Taste and See! Resources for Holy Communion
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Eat this bread, drink this cup. Taste and see the goodness of God. Bread of life, cup of love, we rejoice in your presence. (ELW, #492)
The haunting melody and beautiful words found in “Eat This Bread, Drink This Cup” are for me among the richest and most meaningful for describing the celebration of the Eucharist. You will find the verses of this lovely communion hymn interspersed here with a collection of resources meant to illumine our experience of the Lord’s Supper.
Our core identity and central commitment as Lutherans to word and sacrament ministry is a key component of faith formation. The selection of multimedia and print resources found here represents some classic “takes” on sacramental life and the many meanings of Holy Communion. Please note the use of the word, classic. Several resources have been around for a long time but continue to speak meaningfully the multiple meanings of the Lord’s Supper, the meal around which Christians identify and find themselves sent into the world. Being nourished at the Table of the Lord and being food and drink for one another is at the heart of all these resources.
Julie K. Aageson
Director, The Resource Center
Coordinator, ELCA Resource Centers
I will bless the Lord at all times, praise with heart and voice; in my God I glory forever: listen and rejoice!
6 Books for Small Group Bible Study
Breaking Bread: The Spiritual Significance of Food
by Sara Covin Juengst (Westminster John Knox, 1992)
Food and feasting are major biblical themes. Juengst has taken these Eucharistic themes to create a resource that will enrich readers’ understandings of the spiritual significance of meals, Holy Communion, and rituals of sharing, celebrating, learning, and more. Each chapter focuses on biblical customs related to food and feasting and concludes with brief “recipes” for action. From Walter Brueggemann: “…the book lets us retaste, renotice, and reswallow our life from God.”
Gathering at the Table
by Elizabeth Hoffman Reed (Liturgy Training Publications)
This small booklet is sure to stimulate conversation about the sacredness of meals and the ways in which the communion table is about all the other tables in our lives. Brief reflections in praise of dining, meals, manners, and sharing are interspersed with poignant quotations.
Daily Bread, Holy Meal: Opening the Gifts of Holy Communion
by Samuel Torvend (Augsburg Fortress, 2004)
From the Worship Matters series, this rich treasure offers an ideal format and fertile content for adult study. Beginning and ending with his grandmother’s gift of golden molasses bread, Torvend brilliantly unwraps the gifts of the Lord’s Supper. He invites conversation and reflection that will enrich and deepen every readers’ experience of the Eucharist. This book is a banquet for all who long for a deeper understanding of the generosity of God.
Let Us Break Bread Together: A Passover Haggadah for Christians
by Michael Smith and Rami Shapiro (Paraclete Press, 2005)
This lovely guide for planning and hosting a meaningful seder meal brings together the great themes of the Exodus story as a lens for understanding the Last Supper. In providing a helpful guide to an authentic Jewish Passover meal, Christians will experience a deeper knowledge of the themes of slavery, freedom, and community. Let Us Break Bread Together is an extraordinary learning opportunity for adults and youth.
Sunday Dinner: the Lord’s Supper and the Christian Life
by William Willimon (Upper Room)
Another classic that begins with the ritual of our own Sunday dinners, this book about meals will help groups see the Lord’s Supper as the primary place for understanding Christian identity, sustenance, conversion, and growth.
Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion
by Sara Miles (Ballantine Books, 2007)
Stunning best describes the story that unfolds here. This beautifully written spiritual memoir vividly illustrates the power of the Eucharist to transform and reveal the presence of God. It’s a remarkable telling of meals that are more than meals, communion that goes beyond our own tables and churches, conversion that truly is about being food and drink for one another. Sara Miles’ story captures the wonder of sacramental life and the meaning of radical hospitality. It is nothing less than a vision of the kingdom and will give adult groups much to ponder about the many meanings of Holy Communion.
Look upon the Lord, be radiant, never turn away. God will save in every affliction, hear us when we pray.
Multimedia Resources
For Youth and Adults
Babette’s Feast
This award-winning 1987 Danish film will stimulate discussion about the richness of the ceremony of eating together. The captivating story of Babette and the meal she prepares for a motley band of pious Christians illustrates the power of the Eucharist to transform and shape a people. This multi-layered tale remains a classic for revealing the beauty of a meal not only as nourishment for body and soul but a means of reconciliation, generosity, forgiveness, and new life. Available on video from the Resource Center. View the trailer and more at IMDB.com (external link).
Beneath the Tree of Life: A Communion Service for All the Churches
(Music CD edited by Marty Haugen and Susan Briehl, GIA Publications)
Until the Reformation-and for some time after in a few Protestant denominations-Sunday celebration of the Eucharist was normative. Beneath the Tree of Life was created in the expectation of that day when all liturgical Christians can find common nourishment at the table of Jesus. Available from the Resource Center or GIA Publications (external link) (Download a .pdf of “Beneath the Tree of Life” (external link)).
Communion Ware from Bethlehem
Each synod in the ELCA loans a set of ceramic communion ware made by Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem to Lutheran congregations. A gift from the Division for Global Mission, this sharing of the vessels of Holy Communion is a way of connecting ELCA congregations to struggling Christians in the Middle East. Available from the Resource Center and from the Division for Global Mission.
God is Here!
(Initiatives for a New Century, ELCA, 1999)
These five video reflections on worship in the ELCA are intended for small group study and could be used during the Lenten season. The session on Holy Communion invites viewers to contemplate and meditate on the experience of God in this sacrament. It’s divided into two parts: “We Offer Ourselves” and “No Divisions” using a plate with bread, cup with wine, and a purificator as points of focus. A helpful study guide by Eileen Crowley-Horak is included. Available from the Resource Center or at the ELCA.org Worship Learning Center (external link).
Interview with Sara Miles about Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion
Published by Ballantine in 2007, the impact of Sara Miles’ spiritual memoir (see Books for Small Group Study) is discussed in this live interview about her radical conversion to Christianity. Discussion groups reading the book will find the interview compelling and enriching. This podcast can be found on Steve Brown, Etc., a nationally syndicated internet program (listen to the interview online (external link)).
Angels fold their wings around us, guard through good and ill. Those who seek the Lord will lack nothing; taste and have your fill.
Mosaic: Holy Communion
(ELCA, 2006)
This 31-minute video introduction explores biblical foundations and reviews Reformation history that defines modern Christian understandings of the Eucharist. It reminds adult learners of the gifts of the earth found in bread and wine and the many ways they convey God’s grace. DVD and web resource available from the Resource Center and online at ELCA.org Mosaic (external link).
Say Amen! To What You Are
(Liturgy Training Publications, 1994)
This 18-minute video documentary of the communion rite as celebrated in a parish setting provides deeply meaningful insights into the ways Christ comes to us in the Eucharist and how we are nourished at the Lord’s table. Available for loan from the Resource Center.
Supper at Emmaus
Supper at Emmaus by HeQi (from ELCA.org)
(Art work by Chinese contemporary Christian artist, He Qi)
This liturgical art is reminiscent of the piece commissioned to introduce the Holy Communion section in Evangelical Lutheran Worship. It depicts the supper at Emmaus in Luke 24:28-35. The risen Christ appears to two disciples and is made known to them “in the breaking of the bread.” The two banners are available for loan to ELCA synods from the ELCA (external link). Send requests to worship@elca.org
With Burning Hearts
(Orbis, 1995)
This 25-minute video by Henri Nouwen shows the Eucharist to be an intensely human event that reveals the depth of human experience: sadness and loss, attentiveness and invitation, intimacy and engagement. It reveals the power of the Lord’s Supper to transform Christians in their journey with God. Available from the Resource Center.
These Things ‘Matter: Word, Baptism, Communion
(ELCA, 1998)
These video reflections focus on the ELCA’s Use of the Means of Grace: A Statement on Word and Sacrament. The 20-minute video exploration of Holy Communion invites conversation and reflection on the ways we practice and celebrate the meal. A detailed study guide helps make this an excellent foundation for adult education, small group study, worship committees. Available from the Resource Center, from Augsburg Fortress (external link), and at the ELCA.org Learning Center (external link).
Saints of God, bow down and worship, bless the holy name. Rise to tell God’s greatness forever, wondrous deeds proclaim!
For Children
Davey and Goliath: The Family of God
This timeless classic from the Davey and Goliath series continues to help children understand Holy Communion as the special meal of the family of God. It expresses questions and feelings children may have about communion and helps develop a sense of belonging and community. Available from the Resource Center and for purchase from Augsburg Fortress (external link).
Eating and Drinking in the Word
Most often used for first communion instruction, this 20-minute video presentation for children, especially in grades 4-6, introduces a Lutheran understanding of the Eucharist. Available from the Resource Center on video and DVD and for purchase from Seraphim Communication and Augsburg Fortress (external link).
Grandma’s Bread
Another classic, this 17-minute video and DVD is a story children will remember about the power of relationships and the meaning of sharing bread. Available in English and Spanish, Grandma’s Bread tells a poignant story about the love of family and what it means to belong to one another. Available from the Resource Center and for purchase from St. Anthony Messenger Press (external link).
Table of the Lord
This four-part video resource helps prepare young children and their parents for participating in and receiving the Eucharist. Each program has a dramatic situation to help children understand how Jesus meets them in the sacrament, a gospel story, an activity, and an explanation about how giving, eating, and celebrating are central to communion. The fourth video is directed to parents and gives a clear idea of what children are being taught about Holy Communion. Available from the Resource Center and for purchase from St. Anthony Messenger Press (external link).
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