no one else wants it now

Today at church, we celebrated Communion. At our church, we have the option of taking our wine from the Common Cup or from an individual cup. I have a neat streak that makes it impossible for me to share a cup with the rest of the congregants. I realize that the alcohol kills the germs but I have too hard of a time. If I am visiting a church that MAKES you drink out of the same cup as the rest of America and the English speaking parts of Canada, then I pretend I am Baptist and then they do not let me commune with them.

I was kneeling before the altar next to Margaret, and on the other side of Margaret was Barbara. After our Communion had been distributed and we were waiting for the blessing, I heard a loud breaking noise. Barbara had crushed her tiny cup she took her communion from, breaking it into several tiny pieces. It is a miracle that Barbara was not hurt and it will be a miracle if I am not excommunicated.

When Barbara broke her glass, I leaned forward to glare at her and once I had settled back into my spot I said, louder than I had intended to, �We just can�t have nice things. How are they going to reuse the cups if you are breaking them? That�s your cup now Barbara, no one else is going to want to use it.� I did this all with the straightest face and looked truly appalled but everyone was laughing, even one of our pastor�s but he is in his nineties and it could have been gas.

Lutheranism is opposed to humor in general, and during the sacraments, in particular so I am sure I am in trouble with someone for what I said. If nothing else the Pastor should be offended that I can get people to laugh, smile and leave church with something to remember and talk about while he is the most unmemorable man I have ever met.