Communion Service

(October 29)

He is an old man, by any test.  But this does not keep him from the service of his Lord.  Each Sunday he is at the door, passing out bulletins.  When the time comes for Communion, he slips out and comes back in with the trays, just as he has done for years.  It seems quite ordinary, until you look at his belt.

Not the one in his pants; the one circling his hips.  On this you will find a battery powered machine which extracts extra oxygen from the air.  He is often seen with an oxygen tank;  this device lets him continue to provide the service he has done for many years.

He’s not a “major player” in the church; in fact, if it weren’t for his name tag, most of us wouldn’t even know his name.  But there’s a smile on his face as he passes out the bulletins, and he is diligent at communion.  It is the way he honors his Lord.  It is also a beautiful example of the servant’s heart.

Servant leadership.  Even the King of Kings and Lord of Lords washed His disciples’ feet.  It serves as a model for us today.  There are those whose dignity will not permit them to stoop; there are those for whom it makes no difference.  These are the invisible people—the people who serve without being noticed.  It is the mark of a Christian gentleman that he treats the invisible people like real human beings.  Some of them will be honored indeed when our Lord returns.

So it is that my wife and I always whisper “thank you” to the person serving us communion.  It is a job with no applause, but it is Christian service none the less.  Christian service, given out of love, for no applause will come there way.  Yet see the dedication of a man who brings his own oxygen machine with him. 

If I say “thank you” to such a man, how much more then should I give thanks to my Lord who made this possible, on the Cross.  By His example we are guided; by His sacrifice we are saved.