When I was training for the ministry I was required to attend regular conferences. On one occasion a senior minister spoke to us about worship and in particular the Lord’s Supper. He very strongly advocated the use of the common cup as being closest to the tradition established by Christ and as a powerful symbol of the unity of God’s people. He dismissed reservations about hygiene saying: ‘It’s a sad indictment on us when we don’t trust one another.’
That made a big impression on me and through the years was grateful for ‘evidence’ that there should be no fear in using the common cup. The coronavirus crisis has shot all of this down in flames. Before the cessation of services Churches of all traditions were moved to lay down strict guidelines with regard to the celebration of the Sacrament to prevent the spread of the virus. This included the handling of bread and the sharing of a common cup
The message is that while we bring faith to the Lord’s Table that must include a sense of responsibility to one another. This is relevant also with regard to the use of alcoholic wine in the Lord’s Supper. I have known people with alcohol problems who have been anxious that this might set them back on the road to addiction. A colleague once said to me that surely this can be overcome in an attitude of faith: ‘This will not happen.’
I’ve never been convinced by that. We bring faith to the Lord’s Table but that must include a sense of responsibility to one another. Surely it is not too much to expect that provision can be made for any who have anxieties about the wine or indeed the bread in the Lord’s Supper.
Thinking about the other person is very much in the forefront of all public pronouncements at present. A weekend of large gatherings at beaches and in parks and supermarkets has provoked strong statements from the Westminster and Holyrood governments. The message is that this it is not just about ourselves, we have to be mindful of what we might be doing to others.
This is never the easiest of things. I have to confess that my head has been full of dark scenarios that might overtake me and mine. What helps to lift me out of this is prayer for others. Just yesterday an elder in St Paul’s mentioned his daughter in an email. She is a London doctor under huge pressures at present. To hear about that and other stories helps to shift the self-centredness which is spiritually ruinous. Remember all those lists of people at the end of Paul’s letters? People who had been a blessing to him, people who were sharing in his work for the Gospel, people who were struggling with their own personal challenges. Paul was bringing them to mind even while he was dealing with severe pressures in his own life. In essence he was living out his own repeated direction to his brothers and sisters in Christ that we should live to place the needs of others before our own. (Philippians 2: 3-4)
