An excerpt from Bishop Sutton, (Reformed Episcopal Church, ACNA):
“The church is to do no less than Christ when it comes to admitting people to the new covenant feast. If adults need food to grow, so do children. If adult believers require spiritual sustenance to mature, so do children. This is part of the blessing. They are not to be forbidden from the holy food of God.
The Lord’s Supper is “way-bread” for the believer’s journey in this world. J. R. R. Tolkien communicates this sacramental principle through the metaphor of way-bread in The Fellowship of the Ring. Little hobbits are given the mystical food for their journey. They are told that just a small portion of lembas is enough to feed large people. By implication it is sufficient for the little folk, the hobbits. The New Testament teaches the same. A little bit of grace goes a long way. Crumbs from the table of God are necessary for expansive growth toward life for the world to come. Adults must have this spiritual food for their journey. So must children. To forbid them is to confine the church into spiritual immaturity. Instead, covenant children should be allowed to come to Christ’s table for the way- bread of a child’s journey, and, yes, even for the demands and adult’s journey. All must eat to grow. If they do not, then they will die along the way from spiritual starvation no less than a hiker will expire in the wilderness without sustenance. Could this be why forbidding children the blessing of His food is so serious to Him? To keep the children from the Supper of the Lord is to cut off the means of grace and source of growth, indeed, the necessary way-bread of God.”
Read the Full Chapter – PDF: Here.
Buy the full book: The Case for Covenant Communion (Gregg Strawbridge)
The origin of Lembas bread from the Elves’ Great Journey is similar to the origin of the Eucharist from the Manna, which sustained the Israelites during the Exodus, i.e. another “great journey.” Additionally, “waybread” resembles ”Viaticum” (literally “traveling/road provisions”), the Communion given to the dying.
“Eat little at a time, and only at need. For these things are given to serve you when all else fails. The cakes will keep sweet for many many days, if they are unbroken and left in their leaf-wrappings, as we have brought them. One will keep a traveler on his feet for a day of long labour, even if he be one of the tall Men of Minas Tirith.“—The Fellowship of the Ring,
Outline
I. Introduction: The Way-Bread Metaphor
- Tolkien’s Lembas Bread as Sacramental Symbol “It is small yet it is large in effect. It can feed the largest of people and therefore, by implication, the smallest, lowliest of creatures—such as the Hobbits—for a long, long time.”
- Way-bread is likened to Holy Communion—little in size, large in sustaining power.
II. The Theology of Crumbs and Christ’s Table
- Referencing Matthew 15:25–28: “A little bit of God’s blessing goes a long way. All she needed was a small portion of what He offered.”
- Tied to the Eucharistic theology: “crumbs from the Lord’s table” nourish completely.
III. Children and Christ’s Presence (Matthew 19)
- Children once excluded are now welcomed by Jesus. “The disciples rebuked them… The actions of the disciples understandably provoked the Master’s displeasure.”
- Christ’s rebuke of the disciples has Eucharistic implications. “Disallowing children into the sacramental presence of Jesus could be tantamount to the same violation.”
IV. Solomonic Wisdom and Matthew’s Gospel Context
- Jesus portrayed as the New Solomon and wise teacher. “The Gospel of Matthew presents an apologetic for Christ as the final Solomon who brings the Gentiles into the covenant with wisdom.”
- Family and covenant are central; family blessing includes children.
V. The Tactile Blessing of Covenant
- OT blessings were transferred by laying on of hands—legal and incarnational. “The placing of the hand(s) on the successor was a form of oath-taking, the juridical.”
- In the NT, Jesus transfers presence and blessing in tactile ways: “Jesus wanted little children to be allowed into His presence, to be blessed by Him.”
VI. Children in the Sanctuary and the New Covenant
- Children formerly excluded from the Holy Place are now included. “In the old covenant temple… they were not permitted the benefit of blessing in this holy place context. Yet, Malachi clearly spoke of a day when all of this would change.”
- Fulfilled in Jesus allowing children to cry “Hosanna” in the Temple (Matt. 21:15).
VII. Eucharist as Extension of Christ’s Touch
- Eucharist is the continuation of the tactile blessing of Jesus. “He is at the Eucharist in a special way. He promised that bread and wine would be Him in some inexplicable way.”
- Quoting 1 Cor. 10:16: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ?… the bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?”
VIII. The Implication: Children Must Commune
- If children need spiritual growth, they need spiritual food. “If adults need food to grow, so do children. If adult believers require spiritual sustenance to mature, so do children.”
- Eucharist as “way-bread” for the journey: “To keep the children from the Supper of the Lord is to cut off the means of grace and source of growth, indeed, the necessary way-bread of God.”
Questions People Ask About Communion and Children
- What is paedocommunion in Reformed theology?
- Should children take the Lord’s Supper?
- What does the Bible say about children and communion?
- Why did Jesus bless the little children?
- What does Matthew 19 teach about children in the church?
- Are baptized children full members of the church?
- Is the Eucharist spiritual nourishment for kids?
- Can my baptized child receive communion in the Anglican Church?
- What did early Christians believe about children and the Eucharist?
- Is paedocommunion biblical or just a tradition?
Related Search Terms for Deeper Study
- Reformed theology children communion
- Anglican views on paedocommunion
- covenant theology and children
- eucharist for baptized children
- ray sutton way bread
- covenant inclusion of children
- Jesus blesses the children Matthew 19
- tactile blessing in the Bible
- eucharist as means of grace
- should kids take communion?
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