By Rev Jennie Gordon
Gathering at the table for Holy Communion is a central and mystical sacrament of our faith that we share together; the bread and the wine, the body and the blood.
Instead of attempting to provide an “at home” communion service, we’re suggesting this period of physical separation from each other and our common table might be seen as a time of fasting from the feast of Holy Communion.
Fasting is part of our tradition and, when woven with prayer and patience, can form in us a greater clarity and understanding of what is being withheld, a deeper spiritual appreciation and a holding of the delicious anticipation of the great feasting day when we can gather in homes and churches once more.
Here is a prayer to frame your fasting from the feast of the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper:
Jesus, at whose table I have found welcome,
and who sits beside me now
in the fasting from the feast,
Bless this space of holding back;
bless it with gratitude
for the times upon times
when I have opened my hand
and felt the solemn bread rest in my palm
and known the blessing of your holy brokenness
crumbling into my own.
Bless this space of holding back;
bless it with forgiveness
for the times upon times
when I have held the cup
and forgotten the cost of such a love
outpouring
and gulped the wine with scant regard
for the crushing of the fruit.
Bless this space of holding back;
bless it with hope
for the times upon times
when we will meet again
and open our hungry hands
and hold the brimming cup
and share this sacred meal
together.
Jesus, at whose table I have found welcome,
and who sits beside me now,
stay with me,
through the fasting to the feast,
and evermore, and evermore, Amen.
Rev Jennie Gordon is part of the Shearwater Ministry Team, Presbytery of Gippsland.
