How Did They Know?

For the past few years I have been given the amazing task to teach the Confirmation class at Saint John's UMC.  I have seen two classes of sixth grade students confirm their baptisms, and be welcomed as members in their own right to our church.

Many Sunday's are challenging for me.  I want to give these students a gift that I was so lucky to have been given, and I sometimes forget that they are only eleven.

This past Sunday was one of the weeks that makes my work worth it.  This week's lesson was about Communion. We were all sharing about the different ways that we have seen communion being done or how we have taken it before. I shared with them a story that a mentor of mine, John Anderson, shared with us in my adult Bible study a few weeks ago. I was telling them about a group of WWII POW's that went through the motion of taking the elements and saying the words of the last supper without actually having the elements present. I told them that after the POW's release they talked about how this act gave them a little peace during their trying ordeal. I was trying to convey to them that God is immanent and really with us always, and to that it's important to do certain things in a very deliberate manner to remind us of that fact.

One of my students asked a very important question about his story... How did they (the POW's) know that it was the beginning of the month?

I thought about this question all day, my immediate answer was that at our church we take communion once a month, and that its not ONLY allowed at the beginning of the month. 
 
I forwarded this story to several folks that I depend on for guidance and for strength in my own faith journey to see what their thoughts were.
 
Here are a few responses:
 
From Sheri Jones:
 
Dear one,

     Does it matter what day of the week or what week of the month? I assume they just took it when they felt the need. Personally, I would like to take it every Sunday.


Faith, Hope, Love, and Joy,
Sheri

From Paul Escamilla:
     My goodness, Heather--this is a good question. You must have a very bright

group...!
     I'm thinking the question is related to the fact that "the beginning of the
month" is when many modern Protestants (including most United Methodists)
generally observe Holy Communion in Sunday worship, right?
     Monthly communion is a fairly modern invention. In mainstream Christendom,
weekly gatherings generally included the eucharist, or communion, from the
very beginnings of the Christian community until around the 18th century,
when on the North American continent the burgeoning frontier churches were
too thin on clergy to have regular observances of the sacrament.
     Wesley, for example, often received communion daily, and sometimes even more
frequently.
     So . . . those who needed to be assured of the presence of God through their
ordeal in prison camps were able to summon that assurance whenever needed,
just as communion can be celebrated in any context, at any time. And, yes,
as you say, these rituals have meanings far beyond our ability to quantify
them, including reminding us of the constant, nourishing presence of God in
our midst, and in our very being.
     Make sense? ...
Paul

From John Anderson:
     Heather-- I cannot add anything to Pastor Paul's total explanation and

observation. And thank you, for remembering my Emmaus story about the
POW's--what a dynamic church family we are blessed to have!! John


From Georjean Blanton:
     Heather,

I have little to add to what Paul wrote. It might be a teaching moment for them about communion as one of the "means of grace", as John Wesley called them.


Georjean

 It does make sense to me that the mystery of God cannot be quantified, and his power is limitless.