Children at the Lord's Table

I was once at a church service in which the children were called up to the front of the sanctuary before being dismissed to sunday school. It was a communion sunday, so the table at front was spread with a white cloth, on top of which were placed the bread and wine to be distributed later in the service. The children were shown the elements and told in effect, "This is what all the grown-ups are going to have after you leave, but you can't have it until you're older." I was disturbed by what was being communicated to these youngsters: "The body and blood of Christ shed for our salvation lies here before you, but it's not for you."

I have often thought that many of the Reformed churches have an inconsistent approach to the sacraments. Since the time of the Reformation, we have affirmed with the historic church that baptism is a sign of the covenant and is thus properly administered to infants. Because we believe God's grace in Jesus Christ comes to us before we are conscious of our salvation in him, we pour the cleansing waters of baptism on our newborn children, trusting that his grace will eventually work to bring them to repentance and the living of the new life. This practice flows out of our strong view of election and our belief that God's saving power is not limited to those able to express an adult faith.

But when it comes to the Lord's Supper, we suddenly find ourselves abandoning this high view of God's grace. In the Christian Reformed Church young people must first make public profession of faith before being admitted to the Lord's Table. Since this usually does not occur before the age of seventeen or eighteen, this means that they will probably not have been nourished by Christ's body and blood until they are nearly out of the parental home. Admission to the Table thus becomes a rite of passage similar to the first date, the driver's licence, going off to university and voting in an election.

Remarkably the Orthodox commune the child immediately after baptism, thereby manifesting -- at least on this issue -- a more vivid sense of God's grace than the typically Reformed Christian. I strongly suspect that this Orthodox practice is a very ancient one -- nearly 2 millennia old, in fact. Its roots are almost certainly in the Jewish passover meal, in which adults and children alike partake.

I am delighted that our family is now attending a church where children are brought up from sunday school to receive communion along with their parents. There is something incalculably rich and meaningful in having my wife and daughter accompany me to the front of the sanctuary to be nourished by the body and blood of Jesus Christ for our salvation. God's grace is for the entire family, not only for those able to theologize about it.

"Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God" (Mark 10:14).