Baby Food
John 6:53-58
Originally scheduled forJune 4
Those who have never had a child might find
this somewhat unusual. But it is a well-known fact of life that, out
of every jar of baby food, the baby gets only about a third. The
rest will be used for scientific and artistic investigation. You
will begin to wonder how a child that small can get strained peas
inside his shoes. He also gets them inside his eyebrows, his nose,
his ears and for good measure his surroundings will be covered with
this green substance labeled “strained peas.” But if you want to
feed the baby, these are the terms in which combat must be accepted.
When you look at something like this, should
someone ask what that person
is doing, you tell them that she is feeding the baby. Feeding the
baby isn’t just a straightforward sort of thing. It is the nature of
communion to be one of those things that looks straightforward and
simple, but carries a lot of meaning with it.
·
Even if your beliefs include
transubstantiation in a crude physical sense, there is also the
symbolic side of communion. Those symbols mean something.
·
Why is that? Because the creator of
the universe, in particular the agent of all creation, said and we
may quote, “this is my body.” And then “this is my blood.” If the
one who defines existence by his very nature says “this is…” then
who are we to argue?
So seriously does God take this simple ritual
that he makes it a necessity. There is no place in Scripture which
says that communion need be offered only once a year, or for that
matter once a month. As far as we can tell, the apostles did it
every week (and probably more often than that.) It is commanded, and
with good reason:
·
First and foremost, it is a communion
with Christ. It is a time for you to bring your sins and your
sorrows too, your triumphs and your tragedies to the foot of the
cross and lay them there surrendering all to Him.
·
In a curious sense, it is also a time
for us to have communion with each other. At the very least we
should recognize that we are not “solo Christians.”
Communion is an essential piece in the
resurrection life. By taking communion you proclaim the Lord’s death
until he comes again. Doing that confirms that you believe in the
resurrection and the power of God. Likewise, you understand from
those same scriptures that there will be suffering on the part of
the Christian; the servant is not above His Master. If Christ
suffered, how can we avoid it? Ultimately, out of this experience,
Christ shall return and bring us all through the resurrection of the
dead. Every time you take communion, you proclaim that fact.
It is most necessary, therefore, to take
communion in a worthy manner. Sober your mind, cleanse your heart
and appear before your Lord, asking his forgiveness for your sins,
and his blessings on your repentance. Then go forth from this place
to be salt and light to the world.
