World Communion

I took a ball of pizza dough out of the fridge and left it out on the counter to warm and soften. The last time I tried to make pizza with it, it hadn’t warmed up enough to roll out fully and make a nice sized pizza. The label said it needed thirty minutes to warm up, but that hadn’t worked. This time I left it out most of the day, sitting on parchment paper and covered in olive oil. Even still, the dough was resistant to rolling. So I changed my plan for the pizza dough, and made bread sticks instead.

I carefully rolled out the dough as flat as it would go, cut it into bread stick shapes with a sharp knife, and sprinkled the oil coated sticks with savory rosemary salt. I popped them into the oven at 400 degrees. I watched and waited as the aroma of rosemary, olive oil and bread swirled around the kitchen.

The rest of the meal was easy to prepare, sautéed chicken in tomato sauce topped with cheese and a bag of string beans that were steamed in the microwave. To make the most of the green beans I took out some fresh garlic, chopped it up, melted Irish butter in a pan and cooked garlic till it was translucent. At last, I dumped the beans into the butter and garlic into the pan and finished them until glistening brown.

That evening, there were lots of other household tasks on our to-do list: mowing the lawn, paying some bills, and laundry that is always calling for attention. The smell of the food though, beckoned us to pause all the to dos. We set the table, we sat down, we filled our plates with cheesy chicken, garlic green beans and savory homemade bread sticks. The chicken was good. The beans were good. But the bread sticks? The bread sticks that were supposed to be pizza crust, turned out to be the standout favorite.

This simple meal, made complete with pizza-crust-rosemary-breadsticks, helped us to pause our to-dos and be nourished by good food and great company. We talked over the events of the day. We shared what went well and what had gone sideways. Over dinner in our little kitchen we took a midday Sabbath and broke humble breadsticks in a kind of communion.

In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus extended a powerful word of encouragement to his disciples he was sending on a mission to share God’s message of love and forgiveness with the world: “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

With the help of that toss-it-together meal, and pizza crust bread sticks, these words of Jesus came to me and reminded me of the importance of taking pause to break bread with one another. Jesus’ invitation to come-to-his-table communion broke through my long list of to dos and invited me to take a moment to be in communion with God and my family. That midweek dinner with my family remembering Jesus’ words, was a rest stop and communion that would carry me through to Sunday.

Jesus’ words offering rest for the weary, also point to the importance of sharing the yoke of our burdens. People are not built to carry the weight of life alone. No person is an island unto themselves. Remember the pizza-crust that was turned into breadsticks? The mere aroma of the bread baking was powerful enough to make my family take a pause, sit down for dinner, and shift from solitary living, to an experience of communion that we could literally consume.

On the first weekend of October, mainline churches gather together to celebrate World Communion Sunday. Special attention is made on how God connects people across the globe and across many denominations. In these ecumenical worship services, communion will be celebrated, remembering the open table that Jesus sets for all people. Our denominations, religious or non-religious backgrounds vary, but communion practices of rest, burden sharing and welcome — are essential for the wholeness of all people.

What good might come from people learning the value of taking a pause, sitting down for a meal, sharing caring conversation and looking into the eyes of our neighbor? Burdens would be shared. Hearts will be filled. Rest would be lived out. Perhaps these gifts of hospitality can make the world smaller, friendlier and more connected?

Nurturing an authentic community can start small. Invite someone over. Make a simple meal. By all means, make the pizza-dough-rosemary breadsticks. I can already smell them baking, can you? World communion starts at our own kitchen tables.