Have we crossed the line?

Nowhere perhaps, is the idolatrous encroachment of consumer culture in the North American church more stark, or disturbing than in the Lord's Supper. Modernist, consumerist encroachment on the Supper has been going on longer than anyone now alive, but as Skye Jethani notes, it's now rising to new levels:

For example, I’ve heard that some in the congregation have requested the use of sugar-free juice during communion. Apparently the thimble cup of grape juice contains enough fructose to agitate their insulin levels, or disrupt their strict adherence to Dr. Atkins’ low-carb lifestyle. I know another church where people have insisted that only whole-grain bread be used for communion. Heaven forbid constipation-inducing white bread be used.

The issue is not the presence of those with legitimate dietary restrictions at Christ’s table, but rather the growing expectation that the church must accommodate every personal need or preference. When the church is expected to supply not only a variety of programs, service times, worship styles, but now even communion bread and cup options—can we finally acknowledge that we have crossed the line into absurdity? Have we elevated personal preference so far above corporate unity that we have little imaginative framework for even understanding the corporate intent of the Lord’s Table?

I wonder if our first step down this slippery slope was the move away from a communal chalice to those ubiquitous communion cups—those hygienic disposable vessels that fit comfortably between thumb and forefinger but seem designed to never relinquish the final drop of Christ’s blood. The stylish (and hygienic) fluted cups reinforce the cultural assumption that communion is really about “me” and not “us.” Once communion ceases to be communal, the door is opened for personal preferences to be expressed, accommodated, and even demanded.

To answer Mr. Jethani's question about the communal chalice, I think the answer is definitely yes. Kyrie eleison.