A couple weeks ago, I and another colleague were invited to offer a short seminar on Holy Communion for a district's licensed local pastors. I am part of a group called the Order of Saint Luke. The Order of Saint Luke is dedicated to sacramental and liturgical scholarship, education, and practice. As a religious order, it is a dispersed community of women and men, lay and clergy, from many different denominations, seeking to live the sacramental life. The Order is Wesleyan and Lukan in its spirituality, Methodist in its origins, sacramental in its practice, and ecumenical in its outlook. Part of our rules of life include magnifying the sacraments. It is about worshiping them it is about holding them up as symbols of our faith, as symbols of God's grace and a way to living as a holy and a living sacrifice in union with Christ's offering for us.
That being said we had a wonderful exchange of ideas and questions regarding practice, liturgy and some nuts and bolts of the How tos. Overall I know my colleague and I were very pleased with what we heard in their practice remaining faithful to the sacraments.
During both sessions, my colleague Kathy asked the question about how many of these pastors saw people during the use of intinction for Holy Communion, pinch the bread with two fingers and try to dip the bread in the cup or faux dip the bread so they didn't have to touch the juice in the cup. Many of the grou p giggled at what they heard and yes that had happened. Kathy proceeded to share that God and Jesus don't want us to "take" a pinch but receive all that God has for us through Christ. When we come to communion, we are looking for grace to continue our journey and to receive abundantly.
There are two services where I serve. At the early service, we get a small number of people and I do not always have someone to assist in communion. So I will bring the bread and the cup forward, saying the words as they take some of the bread. I had to laugh and giggle a little bu moreover became concerned as all of the 15 plus people in worship all took only a pinch of Jesus. Then some didn't even let the bread, small as it was, it the grape juice or they confidently "faux" dipped the bread in the cup. I was concerned one because some see intinction as a way of transmission of germs. Well when one takes only a "pinch of Jesus" and then hits the juice with that tiny bit and their fingers, is it any wonder people see it that way. I was also concerned that in their taking only a "pinch of Jesus" that they were saying, this was all their faith could handle or how much they really wanted to have Jesus in and around their life.
At the end of the service, I asked everyone how many took only a pinch of bread. I shared with them that Jesus did not say come to me all you were heavy laden and I will give you a pinch. Jesus didn't say I have come that you might have life but only a pinch. NO! Jesus came that we might have life and have it abundantly! I make two large loafs of bread each month just for this service. God's grace is not given out in a pinch but in overflowing abundance.
The sacrament of Holy Communion is an outward and visible sign of an inward spiritual grace given to us even though we do not deserve it. We should not come and approach receiving the sacrament as if we don't deserve it or are worthy. The fact is we are not BUT...because of what Jesus did for you and for me, we are made worthy, as we are justified in our faith to come forward and partake of the holiest meal!
So the next time you have communion at your church, help people to understand they need to stop pinching Jesus and take hold of all God has promised through him by accepting or breaking off a hunk of bread so that we all might "taste and see how good the Lord!"

Have a Blessed Holy Week and a Joyous Celebration of the Resurrection!