Holy Communion Services on Sunday Mornings...

Sunday, 23 October 2005

Today I had the privilege of celebrating Holy Communion during the regular Sunday morning worship in the Abbey Church. During this time I could not help but think about how important hospitality is to the Kingdom of God. That God invites us each to the table…regardless of our ethnicity, origins, economic status, gender, level of education or age. The words of invitation in the communion liturgy say it best:

“The table of bread and wine is now to be made ready. It is not the table of any one tradition: it is the table of Christ; his invitation is to us all. With bread and wine:

we make a table of company with Jesus and all who love him;

we make a table of sharing with the poor of the world with whom Jesus identified himself;

we make a table of communion with the earth in which Christ became incarnate.

As we share this meal together, we become the body of Christ to one another. …

So come to this table, you who have much faith and you who would like to have more; you who have tried to follow Jesus and you who have failed; you who depend on this sacrament and you for whom it is strange.

Come. It is Christ who invites us to meet him here.
Iona Abbey Worship Liturgy © Iona Community

Plus, being trained in reformed theology, I could not help but revel in the reminder that when we gather at the table of our Lord Jesus Christ, we gather with the saints who have gone before us. I suppose this is the amazing bit about being on an island which is in my opinion approaching ‘ancient’. Just think of all the pilgrims of faith who have traversed this island since (and before) St. Columba arrived to establish the abbey in 563. Within moments of awareness as these, you will often find me with my shoes off…