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Early Communion: What the Bible and History Teach Us

Lutheran Church in Malaysia Sunday, 3 June, 2012

Rev. Dr. Jeffrey TruscottTrinity Theological College

Singapore

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What is early communion?Traditionally, confirmation has been a pre-

requisite for receiving Holy Communion in Lutheran churches

“Early Communion” refers to permitting baptized children to begin receiving communion before confirmation

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What does the OT tell us?In the Old Testament, the Passover was eaten

by entire familiesExodus 12:3 – “each man is to take a lamb for

his family, one for each household”The sacred meal was for people of all ages

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What does the NT tell us?The NT says very little about who may

receive Holy Communion – we can only draw inferences from different accounts

Matt 14:21 – in addition to 5,000 men, women and children were among those fed by Jesus

Other accounts do not seem to EXCLUDE children

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What does the Bible tell us?The most we can conclude from the NT is that

Baptism/profession of faith is required for participation in the meal (cf Acts 2:38)

The NT does not distinguish between baptized membership and communing membership

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What does the early church tell us? The Didache (2nd cent AD) – explicitly states

that only the baptized may receive Holy Communion:

You must not let anyone eat or drink of your Eucharist

except those baptized in the Lord’s name. For in reference to this the Lord said,

“Do not give what is sacred to dogs.” (ch 9)

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What does the early church tell us? The Apostolic Tradition (ca 215 AD)–

document gives instructions for preparing candidates for baptism, and baptizing

Both adults and “the little ones” (small children) are the presumptive candidates for baptism

The newly baptized receive communion with the congregation; the former also receive a cup of milk honey (ch 21)

We might infer the communion of children from this document

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What does the early church tell us? Augustine of Hippo (354-430) gives an extensive

theology of infant communionHe rejects the widely held view of infant

“innocence” arguing that infants need to be saved (Sermon 174)

Due to their helpless condition, infants are the perfect subjects of the sacraments (en in Ps. 54, 24).

Approaching the sacraments as non-/pre-rational also make them ideal, since the words Jesus uses to describe the eucharist are those of an infant. To eat the sacrament is to become a child again

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What does the early church tell us? Augustine would not base participation in the

sacraments on either age cognitive ability – for him, age is not the same as Christian maturity

“For you know that all who are baptized, whether they are old or young are called infants” (Trac. In Joh. XXVI.1, quoted in Holeton, p. 6)

For Augustine the communion of infants is necessary; it is the sacrament of unity that constitutes the church

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What does the early church tell us? John the Deacon (ca 500 AD) indicates in a

letter that all the rites of initiation (baptism, signing, first communion) “are done even to infants” (par 7)

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What happens in the middle ages?The cup of wine ceased to be given to the

laity during Holy Communion, due to fears of spilling Christ’s blood

This mean that infants could no longer participate in communion since they could only receive a little bit of the wine (they could not digest the bread)

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What happens in the middle ages?A special rite involving the bishop’s laying on

of hands on the baptized was imposed throughout Europe in the 10th century (“confirmation”)

But Christians had to be encouraged to take their children to be confirmed by a bishop (a sacrament)

Confirmation became a pre-requisite for receiving Holy Communion

Age 7 was set as the age by which children were to be confirmed

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What happens in the middle ages?It was argued that children could not discern

the body of Christ before this age and so did not need Holy Communion

In sum, the church’s attitudes about the age and pre-requisites for communion were driven by the need to get children confirmed by a bishop!

In general, Lutherans never saw a need for this special rite by bishops and Luther denied its validity as a sacrament

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What happens in the middle ages?Worship historian James F. White (1932-2004)

states:

“…it is important for contemporary debates that for

nearly twelve centuries, both West and East were agreed

that communion was part of initiation. Infant communion has a long, if forgotten,

history throughout Christendom.”

(Brief History of Christian Worship, p. 81)

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What do Luther and the Lutheran Confessions tell us?

Luther and the Confessions were primarily concerned that adults properly understood the Lord’s Supper

When Luther does mention children, he states that they should be admitted to communion because they are baptized members of the church – not because they have been confirmed or reached a certain age (“Because they have been baptized and received into the people of Christ, they [children] should also enjoy this fellowship of the sacrament so that they may serve us and be useful.”)—although he does require their instruction

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ELCA’s Use of the Means of Grace (1997)

“Baptized children begin to commune on a regular basis at a time determined through mutual conversation that includes the pastor, the child, and the parents or sponsors involved, within the accepted practices of the congregation. Ordinarily this beginning will occur only when children can eat and drink, and can start to respond to the gifts of Christ in the Supper.” (37C)

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ELCA’s Use of the Means of Grace (1997)

“Infants and children may be communed for the first time during the service in which they are baptized or they may be brought to the altar during communion to receive a blessing.”(37C)

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Lutheran Church in SingaporeBaptized children commune after:

Receiving instruction along with their parents (relationship of sin, forgiveness, and Holy Communion)

Conversation with the pastor to discern child’s readiness for receiving Holy Communion

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Lutheran Church in SingaporeDid not set an age for first communion—

spiritual readiness was recognized as centralEmphasized the role of parents as co-

participants in the educational process and as model of participation in the Lord’s Supper

Emphasizes baptism as the rite of admission to communion (no separate FC rite developed)

Adopted idea of confirmation as “equipping young people for responsible church membership and discipleship in daily life” (PS VI)

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Lutheran Church in SingaporeWhen is a child ready? A: when a child can

recognize him/herself as a sinner and that HC is a special meal in which Jesus comes to offer God’s forgiveness.

What is the role of intellectual understanding? A: admission to HC does not rest entirely on intellect.

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A Rite for First Communion? Neither ELCA or LCS currently have any

special “rite” for first communion (vows, rituals, etc)

Baptism is properly understood as the “rite of admission” to Holy Communion

The point of first communion is to receive the sacrament, in that case no extra ritual is necessary

Extra rituals obscure both the meaning of baptism and first communion

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SummaryDocuments of the early church make

instruction and baptism requirements for communion

Baptism is understood as the rite of admission to communion

Once infants became the primary baptismal candidates, churches did not exclude them from communion (1 Cor 11 was no hindrance!)

Later circumstances led to their exclusion from communion; infant communion had to be suppressed!

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SummaryELCA, LCS and other Lutherans churches

have moved to early communionAt first, American Lutherans were concerned

about avoiding the perception that confirmation/first communion gave full membership status

Now ELCA emphasizes the idea that baptism admits one to the Supper regardless of one’s age

LCS also emphasizes the relationship between baptism and first communion; talks about faith receiving the gifts of HC, rather than constituting basis of admission

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SummaryELCA and LCS have

No prescribed age for first communion No prescribed special “rite” of first communion

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SummaryThe case FOR early communion is based on

the long history of communing children in the church and our understanding of baptism

Bible and history also challenge us to give children instruction/preparation not so that they are worthy or qualified, but to help them appreciate the meaning of the sacrament and receive its benefits

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Final thoughts“Early communion” will be an important step

for children Makes clear that they are part of the church

“family”They don’t have to earn their place at the

Lord’s Table because it is the gift of their baptism

The meaning of baptism begins to come into focus for children

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Final thoughtsThe previous point about the sacraments are

importantLutherans are distinctive in their

understanding of the SacramentSacraments do not convey information about

GodSacraments are where God works to transform

us

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Now what?It boils down to our understanding of:

GodOurselvesSin Sacrament

Is your child ready? Education is importantWhat then about confirmation?How are we going to do it?