Communion is a gift for all

Published 5:00 am Saturday, June 10, 2006

By Frank Brocker

Bulletin guest columnist

I recently had a special experience. I went to Sunday morning worship and received Holy Communion. Well, big deal! Great that I had a good experience but several million other people have such experiences every Sunday. Why should my experience rank as unusual?

Simply because my experience took place in Portland’s Downtown Chapel. The chapel is connected to the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Mass is celebrated there each Sunday. And I am not a Catholic!

My wife and I were in downtown Portland to be part of a wedding celebration on that very Sunday. Wanting to ”go to church” nearby on Sunday morning, we asked hotel staff about close-by places of worship. The Downtown Chapel came up as a nearby possibility. Since anything connected with the St. Vincent de Paul Society strikes an interest in me, we walked the few blocks to the chapel.

The mix of worshippers was itself revealing. There were a number of men for whom the Chapel was as close to a home as they now have. There were ”older folks” like us, in couples and singles, young families, young people in their 20s and 30s, in other words, a real cross-section of population.

The music for prelude, liturgy and hymn singing was in a word, terrific. There was a spirit of joy that quickly surfaced when the service got under way. The upbeat music was enhanced by a splendid piano player and a song leader whose leadership pulled good sounds from even the musically challenged like me. We sang and worshipped with gusto.

The elderly guest priest, a former missionary, gave steady and strong leadership to the Mass. He preached a sermon that lifted up a very worthwhile missionary cause, giving touching personal stories of the people he and others had served.

Throughout the service, we felt very much at home. Although we knew no one there, there was a clear sense of belonging. On that day, in that service, we were ”no longer strangers or aliens.” We were family, part of the household of God.

When it came time for the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, it was quickly obvious that the whole present ”family” was invited to eat. There was nary a ”discouraging word” in the printed bulletin about communion being for Catholics only. The priest made no verbal comments to limit the participation. We were there! We were welcome! If I had any problem in understanding or receiving communion, it was to be between the Lord and me. I was not to be denied a special food because of some notion of protecting the sacrament or God from the likes of a ”heathen” like me.

Something there is that’s wonderful about that. If the Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion, Sacrament of the Altar, Eucharist, whatever you choose to call it, is a gift of God to the church. If the Holy Spirit can work through the Supper by giving us life-sustaining nourishment and growth in faith, then what hierarchical or ecclesiastical authority has a ”right” to restrict such a gift when it is eagerly desired? Especially because it is offered in the name of the very One who made the gift possible.

It was pure joy to be among brothers and sisters in Portland that Sunday. I suspect most of them were Catholics. It didn’t seem to matter to them or me. They certainly didn’t make me feel like a foreigner among the flock. I came away with a feeling of this is how it ought to be. ”Hello friend, welcome! We’re glad you came. We’re having dinner a bit later and you’re welcome to eat with us.”

I read about such an idea once in very special book. Something about ”One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all.” It’s the reality of being part of God’s Family and belonging in the ”household of God.”

I received a wonderful gift that Sunday, actually several gifts. I look forward to the day when such an experience will be the norm, rather than an exception.

Frank Brocker is a retired Lutheran pastor living in Sunriver. He is a member of Sunriver Christian Fellowship.