My 19 year old daughter asked me about communion the other day. She said she still did not get it. She understands ceremony and that Jesus asked us to do it and to remember him but if we are truly celebrating his death and resurrection why bread and wine? At first I half referenced places in scripture where bread and wine were used etc. but as I really shifted to seeing her I could see that was not what she was looking for. So I asked, “What would you want to use? What elements would you choose?” She said, “If we are remembering his death and resurrection I think we should break rocks!” This made me smile. She was seeing a disconnect from an internal feeling and an outward expression. Bread and wine did not have power to her, and she needed power. I then recalled a more mystical study on communion I had read a while back that talked about Jesus knowing his death was near and how he had to hold that reality with what his disciples, those closest to him, were about to witness and experience. He gathered them and it was almost as if he was saying (Linda’s version here) I’m about to die and I need you guys close. Not just for me but for you. I need you to feel completely connected to me. I need you to feel me inside of you! It was a time of sacred space and connection for them. As I shared this with her I encouraged her to notice sacred connections….to maybe experiment and think of communion each time she witnesses a sacred connection. To make those connections in remembrance of Jesus. She ultimately decided that we should have a table full of food- (yes- in service) since sharing a meal seems to be her best reference for that connection. That we can have bread and wine but that we should also have pasta! Since having this conversation with her I can not seem to shake my own words expressed to her that day and they are showing up again as I enter into silence. For a long time I knew how to disconnect more than I knew how to connect. Then I progressed to connecting with Jesus but not people. That shifted slowly over time as I continued to follow and learn and grow. To restore and connect with God in nature, in creation, and in people! We can connect to both Jesus and Jesus in people. Some of those connections can be strong, deep, intimate, sacred but unfortunately we can’t live with that intense connection all the time. Still, the small connections- the smile to or from the stranger, the listening of a friend, the prayer over a meal, the comfort of the spirit in our breath, these small connections also keep us grounded, keep us loving, keep us knowing we will be okay. That is power! I may become dysregulated, I may forget to go beneath the wind, but even so I know I am okay because I know sacred connection.