Communion 2009

Introduction

This series of communion meditations was originally published week by week in 2009. Communion is timeless, however, and we offer them to you for your use. A brief description of each is provided in the table below. If you would like the entire set, it is available for download in PDF format here.

January 4	The Desk Drawer - Communion Meditation on the memories found in the ordinary desk drawer.
January 11	The Ferrari Incident - How driving a Ferrari into the wall of a parking garage reveals your incompetence; how Communion reveals your sinfulness.
January 18	Optical Instruments - Communion Meditation on using the correct instruments to see things - microscope, telescope and pure heart.
January 25	Let Me Draw You A Picture - How the Cross is a picture which tells us much, and Communion is too.
February 1	The Supreme Miracle - The Incarnation as the supreme miracle, making Christ fully man, and thus acceptable as sacrifice.
February 8	Appearances - How the Lord's Supper is presented simply, without attention to mere appearances, so that we might easily see the truth therein.
February 15	Care Care - How the simple steps in caring for a car have their parallels in the Christian life - especially at Communion.
February 22	Cruel and Unusual - The death of Christ was most certainly cruel, though not unusual in those times - and sometimes we need to be reminded of the price he paid for us.
March 1	Matched Set - Communion meditation on the unchanging value of the sacrifice of Christ.
March 8	In the Garden - On the suffering of Christ in the Garden - some things are so deep only God can hear them.
March 15	The Postage Stamp - How the humble postage stamp can bring great and welcome news; how Communion brings us the great and welcome news of the consolation of Christ, our forgiveness and an eternal welcome home.
March 22	Souvenirs - How the souvenirs we keep summarize a life; how Communion summarizes Christ's sacrifice.
March 29	Pinch Hitter - A pinch hitter is a substitute - a more effective substitute - just as Christ is our substitute.
April 5	Great Beginnings - Palm Sunday was a "great beginning." but not in the way the disciples expected.
April 12	While It Was Still Dark - Is the ritual empty, or the call of duty, or beyond that?
April 19	Drink Responsibly - Drinking responsibly applies to Communion as well - let a man examine himself.
April 26	Funeral Dinner - The dinner at a funeral is not about the food, but the memories. So is Communion.
May 3	Photographs - What to do with less-than-perfect digital photographs, and what to do with sin.
May 10	Going to Jail - Christ died for all - even the worst of the worst.
May 17	Eucharist - The word means "thanksgiving" in the original, and this is most appropriate for Communion.
May 24	Sacrifice - Done for love; to honor someone, to obtain a good thing; to do the right thing.
May 31	Seeing Things Unseen - How to use the unseen to see the unseen.
June 7	I Also - The concept of being "under authority" and how it ruled Christ's life.
June 14	Warning - Communion is like a flashing warning light in the Christian's life
June 21	Blood Pressure - How Communion, like blood pressure, measures the Christian
June 28	The Colonel's Visit - We prepare for visiting dignitaries; do we prepare to meet the Lord Jesus Christ in the same way?
July 5	For The Person Who Has Everything - Neiman Marcus has a gift for everyone except God.
July 12	Aerospace Ways - Beat to shape, trim to fit, paint to match.
July 19	Substitutes - How Christ is our vicarious substitute.
July 26	Prison Conversion - The way to look genuine is to be genuine.
August 2	Body of Christ - The three meanings of the phrase, "body of Christ," and how they are connected.
August 9	Skull and Crossbones - The Jolly Roger - a symbol of death and evil sold at amusement parks to small children.
August 16	SS Catalina - What kind of memories move us to action?
August 23	The Whistle - The uses of the common whistle, and their parallels in Communion
August 30	The Mask - Is it possible that The Mask is among us?
September 6	Under His Wings - Where do you seek shelter from yourself?
September 13	Just Between You And Me - Why I hate coming to Communion; why I love coming to Communion
September 20	Price of Obedience - Few of us receive the high and hard calling of the faith, but all of us should pay the price of obedience.
September 27	Undeserved Love - The core of Christ's forgiveness is the love we don't deserve.
October 4	In Prison, Lonely - The loneliness of prison life, even if the prison is Planet Earth - and the hope that comes from Christ.
October 11	Rain - Always welcome in Southern California, except when it isn't. Like Communion.
October 18	Feasting Alone - A contradiction in terms, but travelers know it well. How Communion shares the character of a true feast.
October 25	First Communion - Some strange things available for first communion - and their contrast with the real thing.
November 1	Self Examination - Should the new wave of consumer Christianity (the"Emerging Church" movement) omit the time of self-examination in Communion?
November 8	Latitude and Longitude - Communion is the sextant of the Christian life.
November 15	Sorcerer's Apprentice - The sorcerer's life: power, prestige and pride. The Christian's life: work, reward and humility.
November 22	Safety Signs - These signs - and communion - alert us to the dangers we already know about.
November 29	Ordinary and Sacred - How the ordinary becomes sacred - right from the source.
December 6	Shame of the Cross - Christ endured the shame of the Cross so that we might have salvation.
December 13	Divine Style - Glory is to God as style is to an artist.
December 20	Dealing With Sin - The cleverness of man in finding the wrong ways to deal with sin.
December 27	Abundance - Christmas is a time of abundance - and God's grace exceeds all our thought of abundant mercy.