The internet has become a place where people go to fill lots of needs, of all kinds.
Even faith.
Online church's have sprung up all over the net. In the luxury of your own home and pj's, you can get a sermon, some hymns, community, even confession.
However, what happens if you come from a sacramental tradition?
Well, even those needs can be met online! Check this out!
You can even take communion at home! No pastor necessary...or at least not one you can see. There are some obvious concerns here, or maybe they're not so obvious.
Are there limitations on how God can bless the elements of bread and wine (or whatever you choose to use)? In other words, because a pastor is blessing the elements over the internet, from far away, and maybe even at a pre-recorded time, does that make this any less communion than we might experience at a physical church?
Is God limited by distance, time, or binary code?
Can't God's son work through our flickering computer screens just as well as our glimmering stained glass windows?
A Mexican-American-Lutheran pastor's sermons and thoughts on spirituality, marriage, religion, parenthood, nerdhood, Jesus, and life's simple pleasures.
Wow... I can understand the sermons online, but communion? That made me feel sad. One of my favorite parts of communion is being with others as they receive bread and wine. I love receiving communion, but part of what makes it so meaningful is that there are others there with me - that I am part of a community that is comprised of people who all need that bread and wine. And even if there are just a few people there, we still know that Christ is present where two or three gather in his name.
ReplyDeleteThe Spirit blows where it will and I don't think God is limited, but the gathered community is a precious gift. Our sisters and brothers who walk with us through both our sorrows and our joys cannot be replaced by a computer. It just doesn't cut it for me.
I would miss the fellowship which I find very beneficial to my needs for seeing and talking to real people. I enjoy the hour or so of coffee and chatting before the service here at Shepherd of the Hills.
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