"After supper, Helen cleared the table and brought a pitcher of grape juice, four tumblers, and four large pieces of Jewish matzo from the kitchen.
"Let's celebrate," George said as he poured a full glass for each of them and gave them each a large square of the unleavened bread.
Eyeing the large glass filled to the brim, Renny asked, " Is this for Communion?"
"Yes. Jesus was not stingy in the way he gave himself for us. He didn't use little plastic cups and tiny bits of crackers at the Last Supper. It was part of a real meal, just like we had this evening."
George said a few words about the Last Supper and invited them to remember the Lord's sacrifice. As Renny drank the juice and munched on the matzo, he didn't have a vision of the cross or see the wounds on Jesus' body. Rather, he had a deep sense of appreciation for what Jesus had done for him, for Renny Jacobson, a man whose struggles with God had, on one level, come to an end. The prodigal was home."
Excerpted from The List by Robert Whitlow.
I loved this and wanted to share it with all of you. I really liked the part about Jesus not being stingy in the way He gave himself for us. Isn't that the truth!
What do you think about Communion being a part of a real meal instead of being isolated in a church service? One thing it made me think of as we do church differently and eat together as a family around the table each Sunday is that each time we share a meal together, it is a time of remembering the Lord's sacrifice for us. The elements of bread and juice are not usually there at this time but the principle is the same. (Acts 2:42)
Mr. Whitlow's example of the Lord's Supper as part of a meal is quite beautiful!
"Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever." John 6: 53-58
2 comments:
I love this post, Mary Ann. I hate to say it, but I really feel like the act of Communion in church is meaningless. I grew up in a strictly liturgical church that had Communion *every* Sunday. At the church we go to now, it's the other extreme in that we only have it 4 times a year. I keep thinking that we aren't doing it the way Jesus intended for us to do it, that it should be in homes as we share meals together. Thank you for the "food for thought".
Hmmm...rethinking my comment. It didn't sound right for me to say "meaningless". I'm just feeling a little disgruntled right now about a lack of community within my church. Sorry---I just wanted to clarify!
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