This is a true story. I once taught a Sunday School class of senior women, among whom were many saints who had experienced a great deal more of life in Christ than I had. In the spring of the year in the Houston area where we lived I enjoyed the honor of inviting them to a brunch at my house. I held it out doors by the swimming pool. I had a friend who willingly joined us and played her flute for us to sing hymns. It was always a pleasant event for me and, I believe, for them. One year I decided that I would like to serve mild mimosas, a drink made with a sparkling wine, as an alternative to plain orange juice.

I began to worry about the possibility that some of the ladies might be unsteady enough to fall into the pool. It didn’t seem really likely, but at communion the Sunday before the brunch, I knelt at the alter rail and prayed, “Lord, please bless the brunch, and please prevent anyone from falling into the pool.” For a moment I thought how good it was to have such a resource as our God for assurance in a situation like this, until I “heard” a voice in my mind say, “Let me understand: you want me to protect your class from falling into the pool so that you can serve mimosas to them?” I didn’t hear another single word, but my entire project changed, and I joyfully abandoned the idea of serving mimosas.

Sometimes we go to communion thinking of our sins or wishing something could change in our lives. Many times we come away empty, but the power of the bread and the wine (or grape juice) to open our spirits to God is very great. It was given to us by Jesus himself, and our Father God honors it.

Paul Caudel, (1886-1955) a French playwright and poet once wrote, “Christians do not leave the communion as if they had met the Risen Christ, but as if they had been at a funeral.” I believe that for many people this is true, but when Jesus gave the wine and the bread , he was truly giving us a powerful link to Our Father, and I believe that God seeks this communication even more than we do, and that when we encounter Him, and even “hear” His voice, we rejoice: Jesus took bread . . . and when he had given thanks , he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it. This is my body.” Then he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them and they all drank from it. “This is my blood of the new covenant which is poured out for many,” he said to them. (Mark 14:23&24)

God bends very low to reach us, and He succeeds. In the Communion He gives His son to touch us again and again.

Love in Him,

Prue