Posted on: Saturday, April 2, 2005

By the Rev. Robert L. Morley

The first two of the three words were "I want." Not at all unusual or surprising, coming from a 2 1/2-year-old.

It was the third and most important word that I couldn't make out as I carried my daughter, Emily, out of the church sanctuary after worship on Christ the King Sunday. In a soft voice, she repeated the request on the church lanai but, again, I couldn't decipher the third word. What did she want?

Since we were in view of the refreshment table, I took that as my cue. But she rejected the blueberry muffins and the pink punch and whispered the request in my ear. As a last resort, I asked my wife to try to interpret the childlike pronunciation errors. Then, this time I understood the word. My wife and I repeated it together: " 'munion."

"I want 'munion" was the complete sentence. She was asking to receive the sacrament that her parents had received.

I took her to the pastor, who was shaking hands at the door. He offered a little blessing but, as we walked away, she repeated the sentence again. It occurred to me that this was one of those churches that require some catechism training before children are allowed to partake at the Lord's Table.

The assumption behind that requirement is that one must have knowledge and understanding before the sacramental act is significant or even valid.

What an insidious assumption. The truth is most of the adults who kneel at the communion rail have no clear idea of the meaning of what they do and certainly would be hard-pressed to verbalize it. But also, who is to say whether the mystical requires technical knowledge in order to be efficacious. Perhaps Emily, at 2 1/2, was drawn to the sacrament by a childlike spiritual urging beyond our adult understanding of such things. At the very least, she knew it was a special thing that people did in God's house and she wanted to be part of it.

Given our Lord's admonition not to prevent the children from coming, my wife and I have decided to seek out a church that will joyously include my daughter when the invitation to the Lord's Table is given. Also, we'd seek a church that serves the sacrament frequently. If my daughter has determined that " 'munion" is central to the worship of God, then I am prone to follow her lead.

My love/hate relationship with the church has been at a low ebb in the past few months. "A little child shall lead them," declares the word. In my case, the little child is my daughter and the one being led is me and the destination is the Lord's Table where all God's children are invited to share in holy " 'munion." The children know.

(Note: Subsequent to the writing of this article, we have become regular attendees at St. Andrew's Cathedral. They celebrate communion every Sunday; they invite to the table all baptized Christians regardless of age. So, Emily, who just turned 3, can march barefoot up that center aisle, kneel at the altar rail and receive the body and blood of her Lord.)

The Rev. Robert L. Morley is former pastor of First United Methodist. He's taking time off to write a book.