Communion

what picture do you see when you hear the word "communion?" i just looked up google images and most of them harken a church experience of some description with a chalice filled with wine and a loaf of bread, or for protestants a plastic cup of grape juice and a broken piece of matza. i was going to put up an image because this weekend at church i took communion, and have been reflecting on my experience.

why do i take communion?

seems like a 'no duh' kind of question, but truly for me i forget sometimes, i do. i don't want to forget, but somehow i just lose contact with what it means. sure, i know it's a symbol meant to help me remember Jesus, His broken body on the cross is the bread, His blood spilled for forgiveness of my sins is the cup. i understand this in my mind...the problem is with my heart. truth is sometimes i just don't live with the passion of someone who claims to believe that the God of the universe loves us, and sent His own child to the world to show me/us how good God is, so good that He would pay the penalty for my numbness, my rebellion, my arrogance, my apathy...my sin. and then i sit down at church and have the elements passed in front of me, and i'm confronted with my indifference. i'm convicted that i spend more time thinking about myself then i do anything or anyone else. i'm struck by the invitation to take part in something for which i do not deserve.

i suppose that's what one author/psychologist calls 'healthy guilt'--an honest admittance that my natural tendency is to wander towards unloving behavior. after all, the opposite of love isn't hate...it's indifference. love and hate have passion connected to them, emotion that is real and energizing--even if it is destructive. indifference is just simple coldness, passionless existence that cares little one way or the other, and that seems to be where most of us land in a world where our tvs display extremes that are all too common, and we experience a pace of life that is constantly overwhelming and rarely satisfying.

so, communion this weekend took on another picture for me...a mirror of my own reflection looking back at me. i eat and drink His body and blood, His sweat, tears, passion and self-sacrificial love for humanity. and when i take communion it's not just remembering, but it's also re-energizing because i believe He is still alive, and He is still able to bring me/us back to life from my dead indifference. the picture i see is a reflection of Christ inside of me, my reflection in the mirror, His Spirit within me--igniting me, inspiring me, equipping me to become His body and His blood for a world that is hungry for life, meaning, purpose, passion, forgiveness, freedom, and peace with God.

and God gives us this picture/reflection/mirror when we are confronted with communion: will we receive Christ in us?