Daily Bread

John 6:53
So 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.

Less than 10 years ago, Holy Communion was served every other Sunday at our church. When the pastoral team agreed upon the goal of moving towards EVERY WEEK communion, we knew that there would be some resistance from some folks -- for as many reasons as there were resisters. Perhaps it was tradition...perhaps it was that they were reaching back to Martin Luther's statement about folks needing the eucharist "no less than four times each year". Some feared that it would be less "special". Maybe it seemed too Roman Catholic. Truth be told, I think many were concerned about going over the magic 60 minute limit for worship....

Yet, receiving Christ's Body and the Blood is the critical component sustaining life that endures. Jesus said it emphatically...and redundantly. We open our mouths and receive in an earthy tangible way the divine food that nourishes the life God promises ... the kind of life made possible through our relationship with the Father...the Creator of the Universe.

When I serve communion I can't help but appreciate the wave of trust and faith that approaches in each and every person coming to the table. Each of us is surrounded by the prayers which point to the stories of all that God has done. Each of us is invited forward as the congregation sings "Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world....grant us peace". And as each person approaches, God is lavishing upon them the love, forgiveness, and utter assurance of LIFE FOREVER. We receive individually... but in doing so we are knit into relationships that will endure after OUR flesh and blood dissolve and pass into the earth.

Eternal life is life of lasting, loving, relationship with God and with each other. Eternal life is God's gift made possible through a faith given and nourished and sustained by the BELIEF that all that God revealed through Jesus Christ is true.

We are drawn in each week to receive this taste of the banquet spread out by God... This is so much more than daily nourishment ... it is the sustenance of eternity.