Aunty, what’s with the complicated ritual of our communion service?
7 April 2025 |
Dear Aunt Sevvy,
Am I the only one who finds the white-draped table of the communion service rather strange—like the setup for surgery—not to mention the complicated choreography of the communion service itself?
Signed, Not Impressed
Dear Not Impressed,
Aunty isn’t sure if you’re the only one who’s had these thoughts—but she does think there’s a lesson to be learned here about traditions.
The original communion service was a passover meal, much like a fellowship meal. Where in the Bible do you see any of the following?
- Tiny cups and tiny crackers.
- Grape juice instead of wine.
- The whole church service breaking up and people going elsewhere in the building to wash one another’s feet (while half the congregation stays where they are because they don’t like the footwashing).
- Fancy coverings that women (none of whom were present at the original passover) publicly uncover and fold in front of the congregation, and cover again at the end, like nurses changing bedsheets.
- Exactly three elders (originally, there were thirteen people around the table) who kneel while everyone else stays seated.
- Separate prayers for the bread and the juice.
- Passing out the bread and juice from special trays, to people sitting in pews, not at a table.
- Pouring out leftover juice onto the ground, and burning or burying the unused bread—as though they have been imbued with sacramental holiness.
Please understand: there’s nothing wrong as such with any of these things. Aunty only asks folks to remember this every time we hear Adventists criticizing other denominations for “unbiblical rituals.” The traditions that Adventists have are often as ritualistic and unchangeable as the critics say Roman Catholics are in their services.
A lesson Jesus gave is applicable here: those with planks in their own eyes shouldn’t try to remove a speck from someone else’s.
Aunt Sevvy
Aunt Sevvy has collected her answers into a book! You can get it from Amazon by clicking here.
You can write to Aunt Sevvy at DearAuntSevvy@gmail.com. Your real identity will never be revealed.
