Symbolism

Symbols are a powerful form of communication. Society is full of symbols for this reason—years ago my brother told me about his oldest daughter learning to recognize McDonalds by the famous “golden arches” long before she could read…in fact just as she was learning to speak. As they would drive around she would shout “Go Donalds” whenever she saw them. That giant yellow M meant something powerful to her, much to the chagrin of her health conscious mother!

Church is full of symbolism, too. But that’s only true if we understand what the message is. In fact, in the absence of correct information the message of symbols can become obscured or even transformed into something entirely different. How are we supposed to understand the intended meaning of that symbolism if no one tells us what it is?

One of the “symbols” we have recently be refining here at FLC is part of the “drama” of our church service itself—the Ritual accompanying our liturgy. Ritual simply means the actions we go through during a service. We all perform ritual behaviors all the time: like shaking hands when we meet someone, or placing our hands over our hearts for the National Anthem. In church we also preform a lot of ritual behaviors that are meant to convey a theological meaning.

Since I’ve been here, I’ve been trying to ensure that our theological belief in “the priesthood of all believers” is reinforced in our worship service. To do this I have placed in the hands of numerous lay people roles that have sometimes been handled by pastors. I’ve done this because the symbol of many different people from the congregation leading elements of worship reminds us all that we are the church together and that worshipping God is a community effort, not a solo performance put on by professional clergy-people.

This is true for the whole service, but maybe even more especially so when it comes to Communion. The Lord’s Supper is the Family Meal of all of God’s People. As Pastor I have been called to serve in the Office Steward of this Holy Meal. For the sake of order and discipline I publicly consecrate the elements of Communion for the whole Congregation. This is not some magic power invested in my person, but rather a function reserved for whoever is called by the congregation to fill the office of Pastor.

But to make clear(er) that this is the Family Meal of all the People of God, the Church has typically involved lay people in various parts of the Meal. Currently at First Lutheran the Assisting Minister (AM) and the Lector (reader) of the day play a central role in Communion along with me. We together act as hosts of this Family Meal, where everyone is welcome to come and receive freely of the blessings of Jesus in our midst. To try to drive this home better I have carved out speaking parts for the AM to draw attention to them as lay representatives of all of you during this portion of the service. They are a symbol of you as a Christian disciple in Communion.

They can be more than just a symbol of you—that role can literally be filled BY YOU in a service. If any of you would like to serve the congregation as a lector, preyer leader, usher, cantor, or assisting minister—or as a tech helper, one who helps set up the altar, or by assisting with refreshments after service

—please let the office, Claire, Gary, or Kris know. Together we are the Body of Christ! May we serve him by serving one another!

Peace!

Pastor Derek