I've always hated legalism

I don't understand the purpose of communion. Or baptism.

To me, communion is a silly ritual where you eat a small piece of bread (or a stale pre-ordered official "communion wafer"; there are magazines where you can order these things) and drink a tiny amount of grape juice (not wine, heaven forbid). Sometimes the pastor or whoever is presiding over it encourages you to "examine your heart" before "taking of the elements"...whatever that means. Communion is usually a very serious, solemn practice. Talking of any sort is taboo.

I don't understand it. Maybe it's supposed to be symbolic or something. But why devote the time and effort to a symbolic practice instead of to real community? Rather than determining when the proper time is to stand up and retrieve your bread from the tables up front, why not actually open up to another person, share your struggles, and receive support?

One might argue we do it because Jesus said so: "Do this in remembrance of me." But, keep in mind, that happened during the last supper. What if Jesus was talking about eating meals together, and just being in community with each other? Also, when they all ate the bread and drank the wine (yeah, it actually was wine; I silently laugh at anyone who tries to tell me it was grape juice), Jesus didn't say, "Examine your heart before you eat and drink these"; rather, he unconditionally invited his disciples to eat with him, without any confession of sins. And I think he still extends that invitation to us. "Be in community with me." But that invitation doesn't only come the first Sunday of each month--it is an open invitation.

Personally, I can't imagine how I could get closer to Jesus by eating a piece of bread and drinking grape juice from a tiny, plastic cup. Maybe some people can do that; good for them. I can at least somewhat understand the Catholic perspective. They believe they are actually consuming Jesus' body and blood. And, if you take Scripture literally, that is exactly what Jesus commands in John 6. He says if we eat his body and drink his blood, he will remain in us. So eating his body and blood is a good thing, right?

I don't believe the Catholic perspective, however. I think that fact makes communion much less important for me.

The Jesus I know is not a legalist; he loves me no matter what external or internal things I do. So I don't think he'd be pissed if I didn't take part in the Protestant church's version of communion.

I was gonna talk here about baptism too, but this post is already long enough. Maybe for a later post.