Come To The Table of Life!

It has always befuddled me when people would tell me that their least favorite Sunday was Communion Sunday. What would make someone dislike this sacred meal, a table set for us by a Holy Host? Some have said they didn’t like getting up out of their pew to stand in front of the congregation. Others have been deeply honest and said they didn’t feel worthy.

I love this meal for so many reasons: at this table, as I have knelt down and felt my forearms slide into grooves worn down by countless others who have knelt in the same place with arms outstretched, I become aware of how the meal connects me not only to those in church that day with me, but with generations of people who have come before me. I have been reminded that this meal is offered freely to me, that I am to come as I am. In spite of feelings of inadequacy, the ways I feel I have fallen short of following in the ways of Jesus, the things I am ashamed of, the wounds I carry, the flaws I cannot face in myself, there are arms outstretched, waiting to greet me at this table to remind me that I am loved even with all of these feelings. Through this meal, I find myself offered a holy wholeness. At this table, my deepest longing for a relationship with God, to know and be known by my Creator, is fulfilled.

Tomorrow is World Communion. Christians from around the world will be reminded of the vast cord of connection that unites us through communion. As we break the bread and pass the cup, we will enter into the holy mystery of this meal. Ordinary foodstuff will be infused with meaning and become extraordinary. Hands will be extended to receive this food, and more than a physical hunger pain will be assuaged. A spiritual hunger will be brought to the table, a hunger for relationship, hope, healing, forgiveness and wholeness. In the holiness of the moment, as we meet Christ who has been waiting for us at the table, all will be filled.

Don’t hold yourself back! Come to the table with all of who you are! There is a place meant only for you. Come, and be received by the One who seeks to offer you Life!