I often find myself rubbing my hands together as I finish the liturgy as a way of cleaning them off before proceeding. A fine dust of flour and crumbs falls on the pages of my book each time and I wonder if Jesus had the same experience during His Last Supper?
Those crumbs stay wedged in my book until the next time I open the pages and begin the liturgy again and I invite the Body of Christ to come to the Table of the Lord with me.
In my heart the Communion Table is a sacred space and a space made open by Jesus for us.
As a Presbyterian student pastor, I was unable to administer communion for 4 years when I first began preaching God's word, so now communion remains very special to me. It reminds me that God's care of myself, my family, and the Church, takes on a form that I often cannot vocally express. How is it that simple bread and juice means so much to me that I wept the first time I stood behind the table and said those words of Jesus to the Body of Christ?
This morning I was reading Isaac S. Villegas' words about manna, and as I read them, I heard echoes of Communion and God's care for us that I wanted to share with you. He wrote:
"God sends manna because God cares for the human needs, God's love matters for our lives. To talk about care is to get specific about the nature of God's love. God's care is what God's love looks like; care is what God's love feels like."
You may not be taking communion today, but I suspect that you will have the opportunity to enjoy some bread, and as you do, maybe you will feel the crumbs on your hands. As you to, I wonder if you might pause and remember the care of God and the love of God that can be found in bread? And if you feel the crumbs, give thanks to the Lord for the care that He offers to you. . .
💕🙏
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