There's a lot going on during worship whether we're aware of it or not. This is especially true during communion, where literally millennia of resonance surround those moments. We begin a journey of seeing parallels in Israel's sacrificial system with the covenant meal of Exodus 24. Sacrifices galore pave the way for 70 elders - by momentarily forgiving their sins - and they SIT AT A TABLE WITH YAHWEH ON SINAI AND EAT WITH HIM. That didn't make it into Cecil's film.
Too often we equate our time at the table with sacrifice at the altar, when that work has all been done for us (Hebrews 9:19-28). To actually RESACRIFICE CHRIST again and again is a common practice, and something to guard strenuously against even in its emotional equivalent in our somber practices. (If you're part of a tradition that intones, "May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands," then read Hebrews 9 and 10 as soon as possible.
We quote John Mark Hicks: The blood of the covenant establishes our relationship with God so that we may eat in His presence as we affirm our allegiance to the covenant, participate in the forgiveness of the alter, and experience the presence of God at the table. The table is the experience of reconciliation and fellowship. While the alter may be a time of sadness, penance, and guiltiness, the table is a time of joy, communion, commitment.
To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.