holy food for holy people

Our tiny church was filled to the brim today!  Love that!  Lots of new faces of Jesus to get to know!  Have I mentioned that one of my favorite parts of the Sunday Liturgy is the moment when our priest invites the congregation to come forward to the Lord's Table to receive the body and blood of Christ?  Here is a paraphrase of what Elizabeth+ said today (and on every Sunday.) 

"Everyone is invited to this table no matter where you are on your journey. 

Everyone.

There is no wrong way to do this. 

Please come forward and share this holy food for holy people." 

I never tire of this statement.  And ya don't have to ask me twice to the dinner table! I have to hold myself back from knocking everyone over so I can get up to that altar rail! (I think that's the 8 in me:)

Here's what Nora Gallagher has to say about it in her book "The Sacred Meal".....
"My own view is this: that once you decide that there are rules around who takes Communion and who doesn't, you can get to the point where taking Communion boils down to making sure a soul is freshly laundered and squeaky-clean before its body can take the bread and wine into its mouth.  This gets very close to manipulating God.  And once you begin to make rules, then there is no end to the rule making."  p.89