Take, Eat, and Be Comforted
MUSIC BLOG
10-31-2024
TAKE, EAT, AND BE COMFORTED
Some of you may remember a musical, “Celebrate Life”. One of the focal points in the musical was a retelling of the Last Supper. Most churches that performed the musical expanded the sharing of communion with the entire congregation, not simply the on-stage participants. As the actors and congregation partook in the elements of communion, the choir sang, “In Remembrance”. This was such a memorable experience for me that it remains vivid and poignant.
Good meals can do that. The conversation around the table, the faces of each person, the setting, all these things become a part of the meal and the memory in our minds. Some meals are life-changing. I remember a breakfast where I threw grape juice in my brother’s face. Not my best moment, but we laughed (much later) about that memory. I remember sitting around our little breakfast table in Kansas City as our dad and mom told us that we were looking for a bigger house and that we would be moving. I remember eating fried chicken at my Grandma Esta’s little house in Topeka or blackberry pie that we ate at her house in Georgia, (yes we picked the berries earlier that day). I proposed to Ronda around the table in my apartment in Ft. Worth, TX, truly a life-changing meal. We had a wedding meal for our daughter and son-in-law last weekend. That was a milestone and a life-changing meal as well.
Communion is important! God knew that when He commanded His people to observe communion until He returns. Luke gave us this observation about the early church, “They devoted themselves . . . to the breaking of bread. . . .” Acts 2:42 Communion happens every week in some churches and monthly or quarterly in others. The one similarity is that communion happens to the gathered body of Christ. I wonder if there are those in our churches who haven’t participated in communion since COVID for one reason or another. I can’t imagine that because communion is such an important time for me and for every Christian. In the moments leading up to communion, every believer takes an inward look. Time of confession and prayers of cleansing and forgiveness are said so that we might not take of the elements unworthily. I need that, we all need that. We need to be reminded of Christ’s great sacrifice and His deep love. In living life, we all get hardened and dull. We need our consciences sharpened and hearts softened. Communion does just that. Looking long into the heart of God through our Savior on the cross puts our struggles in the proper place and prepares us for the battle ahead.
Our church is observing communion this week. Many churches will take communion before the end of the year. Let this be the nudge you need to seek out a church, (maybe your own) where communion is being held and make that your sacred duty to share that meal with the Lord and His people.
Blessings,
Marty