Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Juice or Wine?
Tonight our church had a Communion service, which was basically a Good Friday service but without a full-fledged sermon (just a mini one -- Pastor Brad can't get up there and not do SOMETHING). Before passing the juice/wine, Pastor Brad alerted us to the fact that the cups on the inside of the tray were wine and those on the outside were grape juice, so each participant could choose which to partake of. As the cups approached I thought about the options, and whether there was any benefit to choosing one over the other. I really couldn't think of any reason why one would be superior, although I felt like I should have some sort of conviction on the issue. Ours is a small church so I didn't have long to ponder it, and either my cup was misplaced or Pastor Brad got his juice and wine sections mixed up in the announcement because what I got was not what I expected -- so all that brief pondering was for naught. But it made me wonder if anyone out there has a decent argument for either juice or wine or if it even matters in the least. Thoughts?
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2 comments:
My friend actually wrote his final paper at seminary on this! Basically he said (and I agree) that communion is not about simply replacing our regular sustenance with something special. That would've been just bread and water. Instead, only the bread is symbolic of what we need for bare survival. Wine, not grape juice, is a symbol of celebration. We celebrate that we can eat a meal with God, like a friend having us over for dinner. Grape juice was invented in the 19th century by teetotalers as a way to not have alcohol, which is something God commands us to use wisely (not get drunk) but is commanded in celebrations throughout the Bible.
Yep. I drink the grape juice while pregnant and breastfeeding...and every other time cause I don't care for red wine! Simple, huh?
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