Fiona at the Table

I recently requested that Fiona be admitted to the Lord’s Table. Virgil, our pastor, asked me a few questions, not so much to check for requirments, but to get an idea of where I’m coming from. I answered them, and Fiona was welcomed to the Table. Unless I’m forgetting someone, Fiona (at 14 months) is the youngest child to be brought to the Lord’s Supper at Providence.

Here’s my response…

Virgil,

Fiona does eat regular food at the table with us. She still sits in her high chair, of course, but she eats what we eat. She isn’t entirely weaned yet, but she eats all three meals with everyone else. She also waits while we pray, and, just recently, made clear that she wants to hold my hand while I pray. She’s also in the process of learning her first catechism question (Who made you?). I believe she has an appropriate attitude for partaking of the Lord’s Supper. I think she is able to judge the body, and recognizes that she is missing something that everyone else is receiving.

As for why I’d like her to come to the Table, I guess there are a few different answers for that. Firstly, I’d like her to participate for the same reasons that I do: to strengthen her faith, encourage her in faithfulness, receive anew (be reminded of) the promises of God (and call on God to remember His promises), to deepen the bonds with her brothers and sisters in Christ, and to receive the grace of God in a tangible way.

If you’re asking why I think she should be admitted to the Table now, as opposed to later, I’d say there are a number of reasons. First, she’s a child of God, included in His covenant dealings, and has a right to all the blessings and benefits of the covenant. Second, she recognizes that something is happening, and that she is being excluded from it. In this, I believe she is judging the body. Only, she would be judging herself outside of the body, and that is not true. And I wouldn’t want her to judge the body wrongly. Thirdly, when a person is excluded from the Table, it is an indication of their spiritual status. Admittance to the Supper discriminates those that have been brought into The Family from those that are without. This, coupled with my first and second points, leads to my conclusion that Fiona is not without, and I don’t want her to think that she is. Finally, I think she should participate now because she actively takes part in other portions of the worship service. She sings a bit, she says ‘amen’ with the rest of the congregation, and she raises her arms to the glory of God when we sing the Doxology. She wants to be a part of the celebration, and she ought to be a part of as much of it as she is capable of.