This is my gluten-free body given for you

Does your church use wine or juice during communion?
Do they serve some kind of flat bread or regular bread with yeast?

Ours uses juice and regular bread. And next to the regular bread is a second plate of bread with a little sign that says "Gluten-free".

And Jesus said, "This is my body. Do you want me to cut the crust off for you?"

Sacrilegious? Maybe. But is it more offensive than implying that the symbols Christ designated for communion are less important than the currently trendy diet fads?

I don't think that the symbols are more important than what they symbolize. But there is a point where the symbols no longer reflect the substance. 

Perhaps we don't need to use unleavened bread. Maybe regular sliced bread is just fine. And if sliced bread is just fine, it's probably OK to use coffee cake. But if it's OK to use coffee cake during communion, maybe a blueberry muffin isn't out of the question either.

And juice is a nice substitute for wine, isn't it? Or maybe since juice is so high in sugar, it could be replaced by Crystal Light. After all, shouldn't we be sensitive to those with diabetes, just as we are to those who are gluten-free? And if Crystal Light isn't appealing, we could use fresh brewed iced tea. But if tea is good, coffee is better!

Now, I've had fellowship with people over coffee and a muffin, and I can truthfully say that it can be a more satisfying fellowship than any interaction we have together on a Sunday morning. But I would hardly consider it communion.

Can you picture Jesus taking the top off of a muffin and saying, "This is my body"?

Can you picture Him giving you a sip of His latte saying, "This is my blood"?

Can you see the disciples passing a Starbucks cup around the table?

Doesn't quite work, does it?

If we continue stretching the symbols, the elements will no longer reflect the substance they are meant to symbolize. Fortunately, this does no harm to the reality that is behind those symbols. Christ has still given his flesh. He has still sacrificed His own blood. He has still payed our debt. These things are not dependent upon our rituals, even if the ritual was instituted by Christ.

But those few rituals that He did institute, He did so that we could display an image of what He has done for the benefit of those around us, and for the benefit of our own remembrance.

When we overstretch the symbols used in these, the substitutes themselves become a liability to these benefits. No one is inclined to reflect deeply on the propitiation of Christ in response to a bite of a muffin and a sip of coffee.

But a single bite of unleavened bread with just a sip of red wine can invoke lasting reflection and meditation upon Christ's substitutionary life and death.

A symbol is not the substance. But if a symbol has lost its ability to even remotely symbolize the substance, then it is like photograph that has faded and the faces can no longer be discerned.

We ought never to put our trust in the symbols themselves. But neither should we rob them of their meaning by employing trendy substitutes. 

So do juice and sandwich bread (or gluten-free bread  ::sigh::) completely rob the communion symbols of their meaning? Probably not. But it's a step in that direction. 

Thank God that His grace is sufficient to enable fellowship between all true believers, from the unleavened to the gluten-free (and whatever comes next).