by Clay Gentry<\/p>\n
What do shopping at Kroger and prepackaged communion kits have in common?<\/p>\n
It starts with a small change I noticed at Kroger last night that completely changes how checking out feels. It used to be that after everything was scanned, the screen would scroll through line after line of your “Kroger Savings.” A quarter or two here, a dollar there, all piling up into “Your Total Savings.” It was a great little moment of payoff. You saw, all at once, the benefits of shopping at Kroger.<\/p>\nNow? The savings are unceremoniously tucked under each item as they’re scanned.
\nI asked my cashier about it last night. He wasn’t sure why they changed it, but guessed it was probably to prevent people from thinking a sale price didn’t ring up. I guess that makes sense from an operational standpoint – maybe incrementally faster checkout?\n
But emotionally? It’s a total letdown. I had $8.25 in total savings last night, but spreading that discount across forty-two items, instead of 12 lines of savings at the end, made it feel like I didn’t save anything at all.<\/p>\n
Without that moment of satisfaction before I pay, the “Kroger Card” program loses its appeal. I was thinking, “If there’s no joy at the end of this, I might as well just go to Walmart.”<\/p>\n
And of course, it got me to thinking about Church life – got to get a lesson out of everything, right?<\/p>\n
On paper, small structural or practical tweaks usually make sense. They solve an efficiency problem, save time, or remove a minor inconvenience. But in the process, we often inadvertently strip away the sensory rhythm that gave people joy and a sense of connection.<\/p>\nI’ve recently visited three congregations that are still using those pre-packaged, disposable communion kits – the plastic pods with the cellophane seal – a holdover from COVID, I guess.
\nSure, from a practical standpoint, it makes total sense. They save time (you don’t have to pass out trays), they’re easier to prepare (you just open a box), and cleanup is a breeze (sort of). But it trades the symbolism of a shared memorial for the mechanics of a drive-thru.\n
The theology is technically still intact, but the experience has been flattened for the sake of convenience. Replacing the taste of real bread and the richness of real “fruit of the vine” with a styrofoam wafer and a sterile, lukewarm sip of grape-flavored chemical solution transforms a deeply tactile moment into something that feels… well, less than holy.<\/p>\n
Now, a quick disclaimer: I’m certainly not passing judgment on congregations that choose to use these (for the record, we don’t use them at Jackson Heights). But I would encourage leadership in congregations who do use them to take a long, hard look at what is being lost through convenience – because it’s so much more than just a matter of taste.<\/p>\n
Worse yet, I think it quietly undermines our argument for weekly observance of the Lord’s Supper.<\/p>\n
When we treat the Lord’s Supper as a cheap, disposable ritual, we erode the very reverence that makes us treasure coming to the Table on the first day of every week. Streamlining the Communion leaves us with a sterile substitute that’s hard to defend.<\/p>\n
Convenience always comes at a price, and too often, the cost is the very joy, beauty, and reverence that made the experience worth having in the first place.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Clay Gentry What do shopping at Kroger and prepackaged communion kits have in common? It starts with a small change I noticed at Kroger last night that completely changes how checking out feels. It used to be that after everything was scanned, the screen would scroll through line after line of your “Kroger Savings.”…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[146],"class_list":["post-97200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-lords-supper"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":70356,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-i-steal\/","url_meta":{"origin":97200,"position":0},"title":"Did I steal?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Last year, I went to Goodwill to buy books about dinosaurs and dragons because they are cool. It was seven books. I went up to the cashier to purchase the books. The cashier was someone I know. He scanned the books I wanted to purchase, but I noticed that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28053,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-i-need-to-disclose-my-savings-to-my-fiancee\/","url_meta":{"origin":97200,"position":1},"title":"Do I need to disclose my savings to my fiancee?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 8, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Once again I come with a question that I hope you can assist me with. I'm on the verge of marriage, we have been going to counseling, and I wanted to know what advice you can give about the financial status of a married couple. I discussed with my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20504,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-the-bible-say-the-church-worshiped-on-sunday\/","url_meta":{"origin":97200,"position":2},"title":"Does the Bible say the church worshiped on Sunday?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 16, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a few questions and comments concerning the texts given as proof of Sunday worship outlined in the article: \"Is sex on the Sabbath a sin?\" The verses are Acts 20:7 and I Corinthians 16:1-2. Acts 20:7 speaks of an act that is done on any day, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17682,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-mathew-2629-mean-that-we-shouldnt-take-communion\/","url_meta":{"origin":97200,"position":3},"title":"Does Mathew 26:29 mean that we shouldn’t take communion?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 5, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Does Mathew 26:29 mean that we shouldn't take communion? Answer: \"But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom\" (Matthew 26:29). Your conclusion contradicts other clear\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23582,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-the-first-holy-communion\/","url_meta":{"origin":97200,"position":4},"title":"Why the first holy communion?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 17, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why the first holy communion? What is confirmation after the first holy communion? Answer: The \"first communion\" is the name Roman Catholics give to the first time a person partakes of the eucharist. \"Confirmation\" is also a Roman Catholic term for teaching someone how to be a Roman Catholic.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23456,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-i-tell-my-boss-that-i-might-have-made-a-mistake\/","url_meta":{"origin":97200,"position":5},"title":"Do I tell my boss that I might have made a mistake?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 18, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I started a job at a grocery store yesterday. Today on my way to church, all of a sudden, the thought popped up in my head that I could have caused a customer's soda to not get scanned. 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