I love precision of language. I love sharing with others how their language could be more precise. (Others do not love when I share how their language could be more precise.) As a lover of precise language, I’m aware that “if it’s not from the Champagne region of France, it’s not actually champagne; it’s just sparkling wine.”

That’s not just a fun fact, but a format that nerds use to frame jokes. Maybe not jokes, but humorous criticism. One such criticism that uses this format is, “If you don’t actually care about the wellbeing of all Americans, it’s not actually patriotism; it’s just sparkling nationalism.” I recently came across one of these humorous criticisms that made me stop and think: “If it’s not a full meal freely offered to the poor, then it’s not communion; it’s just sparkling cannibalism.”

It’s a joke. But is it right? Are there conditions that would make communion simply “sparkling cannibalism”? Is there a wrong way to receive communion?

Communion is a ritual where we remember the night Jesus was arrested. Jesus poured wine and broke bread before his own body was broken and blood spilled. Jesus established a new covenant between mortals and the divine. God covenants love and mercy to us, and we covenant to eat and remember Jesus. I hope no one minds me saying, but this doesn’t seem like a fair trade. The old covenant involved blood sacrifice and ritual purity and strict adherence to many commandments. Now we just eat and remember.

I’ve got so many questions. First of all: What do we have to eat? Because I’ve definitely done communion with grape juice, not to mention the times I did it with water. Is the communion in the wine, juice or water? Can I substitute any nourishing fluid? As for the bread, I’ve always had bread, but I hear there are wafers being used by some churches. Is the communion in the elements? If the elements can vary this much and still be called communion, then the type of elements is not what makes it communion.

Jesus establishes the new covenant while on his way to being arrested and killed by the state. He establishes a covenant that doesn’t require perpetual death for atonement. It’s a covenant sealed by a singular death. Our role is to remember and to eat. These tasks feel really easy. I eat every day, and I remember things all the time.

For a herdsman, a blood sacrifice is a remarkable cost: The death of perfect livestock in return for connection with God. In the old covenant, the cost to access God is paid in the death of another. In the new covenant, the cost to access God is to eat and remember. We eat every day. The contrast strikes me almost as if God were saying, “I’ve seen what you’d kill to be with me, but would you live to be with me?”

Eating was the first part the two things Jesus told the disciples to do; “Remember me” was the other instruction. What does it mean to remember Christ? Are we supposed to retell this story before taking the elements? That’s always been a part of it when I do communion, but is that all of it? Are we supposed to remember and retell the Last Supper or go into the arrest, too?

“Remember me” strikes me as an activity we could do at any time. When I was little, I remember having a “What would Jesus do?” bracelet. Throughout the day, there are so many opportunities to remember Jesus and act more in line with his example. Like the many ways we can eat the body, I think there are many ways we can remember Jesus’ life and teaching.

Eat and remember. So, circling back to the joke (“If it’s not a full meal freely offered to the poor, it’s not communion; it’s just sparkling cannibalism”), I think a full meal offered freely to the poor is a time to eat and remember; it counts as communion regardless of bread and wine. But I don’t think that’s the only way to do it. Nourishing ourselves and remembering to nourish others is an easy pattern to establish. When I grow salad and share it freely with my friends, that’s communion. When we bake insane amounts of food and send the proceeds to global relief efforts, that’s communion. Nourish yourself and remember to act in the example of Jesus.

Transform your sparkling cannibalism into communion

1. Eat: As mentioned above, there is a breadth of options to choose from. If it’s not bread and wine, emphasize nourishment. What nourishes your body and soul?

2. Remember: Tell the stories of Jesus. Remember to act in his example throughout your day-to-day life.