Hospitality of Love: Thoughts on UU Communion
Minister's Column
There is something spiritually fulfilling about sitting down at a table with beloved people. It seems to me that humans need not only the nourishment of food and drink, we need the nourishment of companionship, of acceptance, of a moment of peace when we know we can let our guard down enough to expose ourselves as vulnerable humans with concrete needs.
As a Universalist, I believe that all people deserve to have these moments of physical, emotional, and spiritual nourishment, and that we are called to expand the reign of Love in order to make way for this to happen. As a Unitarian, I believe that humans in all times and places are united by our hunger for purpose and our thirst for the quest for meaning. The fount of inspiration reaches us through many paths. We as Unitarian Universalists help to dismantle the barriers that might keep people from fully experiencing their quest, their purpose, or the reality of love. All people should be free to drink from that fount.
These are some of the reasons why I believe it is important to practice the communion of the cup and the bread in a Unitarian Universalist community, at least occasionally. Communion is about sharing the spirit of love and hospitality created between the Source and the beloved community. It is about bringing the elements of transformation into ourselves, and about becoming one body. Communion is about remembering the teachings of someone who prioritized justice, kindness, and radical love over comfort, empire, or this mortal life.
Unitarian Universalism is non-creedal. Some UU's identify as Christians. Some don't. Even within this diversity, we acknowledge that both Unitarianism and Universalism grow from Christian roots. We would not be who we are without this legacy. We meet on Sundays. Worship often features a sermon. We take sacred text seriously, even as we expand our horizons on what text counts as sacred. The communion of the bread and the cup is an authentic expression of our heritage. This ritual connects us with our past, with all who honor Jesus as a teacher, with each other as one embodied community, and with a direct experience of transcendent mystery and wonder.
I am not saying that every UU must participate in communion. I am saying we should support and equip those among us who value the practice. We should encourage our neighbors in their religious growth, even when their spiritual practices take a different form than our own. That is why, at this year's early service at 8:30am on Easter, those who do not wish to receive communion will be asked to remain in the service in solidarity with their neighbors who do wish to receive communion.
The opportunity to practice communion in memory of Jesus in a Unitarian Universalist sanctuary is more precious to some of our friends than we may realize. Certainly, there are other places to practice various forms of communion, but only within the communities of our tradition is it possible to practice Unitarian Universalist communion in memory of Jesus. For all of us as Unitarian Universalists--Agnostic UU, Pagan UU, Christian UU, Humanist UU, Jewish UU, Buddhist UU, and many other combinations--it is our task to tear down the barriers that limited human thinking has placed before those who search for meaning. Let all who hunger and thirst come to the table.
There is something spiritually fulfilling about sitting down at a table with beloved people. It seems to me that humans need not only the nourishment of food and drink, we need the nourishment of companionship, of acceptance, of a moment of peace when we know we can let our guard down enough to expose ourselves as vulnerable humans with concrete needs.
As a Universalist, I believe that all people deserve to have these moments of physical, emotional, and spiritual nourishment, and that we are called to expand the reign of Love in order to make way for this to happen. As a Unitarian, I believe that humans in all times and places are united by our hunger for purpose and our thirst for the quest for meaning. The fount of inspiration reaches us through many paths. We as Unitarian Universalists help to dismantle the barriers that might keep people from fully experiencing their quest, their purpose, or the reality of love. All people should be free to drink from that fount.
These are some of the reasons why I believe it is important to practice the communion of the cup and the bread in a Unitarian Universalist community, at least occasionally. Communion is about sharing the spirit of love and hospitality created between the Source and the beloved community. It is about bringing the elements of transformation into ourselves, and about becoming one body. Communion is about remembering the teachings of someone who prioritized justice, kindness, and radical love over comfort, empire, or this mortal life.
Unitarian Universalism is non-creedal. Some UU's identify as Christians. Some don't. Even within this diversity, we acknowledge that both Unitarianism and Universalism grow from Christian roots. We would not be who we are without this legacy. We meet on Sundays. Worship often features a sermon. We take sacred text seriously, even as we expand our horizons on what text counts as sacred. The communion of the bread and the cup is an authentic expression of our heritage. This ritual connects us with our past, with all who honor Jesus as a teacher, with each other as one embodied community, and with a direct experience of transcendent mystery and wonder.
I am not saying that every UU must participate in communion. I am saying we should support and equip those among us who value the practice. We should encourage our neighbors in their religious growth, even when their spiritual practices take a different form than our own. That is why, at this year's early service at 8:30am on Easter, those who do not wish to receive communion will be asked to remain in the service in solidarity with their neighbors who do wish to receive communion.
The opportunity to practice communion in memory of Jesus in a Unitarian Universalist sanctuary is more precious to some of our friends than we may realize. Certainly, there are other places to practice various forms of communion, but only within the communities of our tradition is it possible to practice Unitarian Universalist communion in memory of Jesus. For all of us as Unitarian Universalists--Agnostic UU, Pagan UU, Christian UU, Humanist UU, Jewish UU, Buddhist UU, and many other combinations--it is our task to tear down the barriers that limited human thinking has placed before those who search for meaning. Let all who hunger and thirst come to the table.