Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.–John 6:35
Today in worship we are telling stories of memorable Communion experiences. I have more than I can tell in one service, so I will share this one as our Devotion for this today.
In 1985, when I was in India for my year of Watson Fellowship traveling, I spent three weeks at a Christian-Hindu ashram high in the Himalayas; it was called “Jeevan Dhara,” which means “Living Waters.” It was life-changing in many ways. I learned the transformative power of yoga and meditation. I absorbed the stunning beauty. I felt a sense of peace. And I was challenged to rethink many of my assumptions.
The leader of the ashram, the guru, was Sister Vandana, a Catholic nun from India. There was a Catholic Priest, Father Josep, from Austria who had been serving communities in South Africa. There were two young Indian postulants. There was a young woman from Germany who had grown up with no religious background and was searching. And then there was me, a young Protestant from the US.
Every day we gathered in a circle, seated on the floor in lotus position, for Holy Communion. We would sing a chant in Sanskrit, which translated into the words of John 6. The priest would chant a simple liturgy. Then we would pass around a tray with small pieces of roti on it. We would serve one another.
I was accustomed to the American discomfort with whether a Protestant could receive communion in a Catholic context. It was not an issue there. Of course I would be offered communion! The question was how to include Gisele, the young German woman who was not sure whether or not she was Christian.
In the first two weeks I was there, Father Josep went out every morning and found a beautiful flower, which he would place on the tray. The flower was for Gisele, who would take it as an expression of how much she was treasured. Something shifted the next week, and I overheard Father Josep and Sister Vandana discussing how it just didn’t seem right that Gisele was not fully included. The next day, there was another piece of roti on the tray–this one for Gisele.
I don’t know if or how they justified their decision in light of the rules of the church. Somehow, though, they knew what Jesus would have done.
God of nourishment, may we broaden our circles as we broaden our vision of your kin-dom. Amen.
–Debbie Clark