Interruptions
July 7th, 2024 – Communion Meditation
This week as I prayed and pondered God’s invitation to us as a church family gathered around the communion table, I sensed the Holy Spirit nudge me to consider interruptions.
Let’s start by reflecting on who or what we allow to interrupt us. U.S. President Abraham Lincoln famously allowed his youngest son Tad to interrupt him, even during important White House meetings. We might set up our phones to allow calls from certain loved ones to interrupt us. We might set an alarm or other kind of reminder to allow an appointment to interrupt us. We might respond to a knock or ring at our front door to allow a visitor to interrupt us, whether expected or not. We might let a phone call interrupt us. We might welcome an interruption to our plans when we notice a particular weather forecast. We might allow some kind of announcement to interrupt the way we had planned to use our finances, for example, if we notice a sale. We might let the news interrupt us by taking on an unhealthy interest or burden concerning whatever is reported. There are so many ways in which we can be interrupted. Interruptions happen. But just because an interruption comes to us doesn’t mean we need to receive it or act upon it. The important thing when an interruption comes our way is to pause and consider: is my response to this interruption motivated by love for God and love for people, or is my response motivated by something less than God’s highest and best? Is my response leading to a deepening of shame, cynicism, doubt, despair, fear, or anxiety, or is my response leading to a deepening of the life of Christ in me?
Listen to God’s invitation to us in Hebrews 12:1-2 (NRSV) – “1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Communion is a time when we willingly choose to let God interrupt us. We come to the table and again surrender our whole selves to the Lord. We confess and lay down every weight and the sin that clings so closely. We receive fresh sustenance so that we can run with perseverance the race that is set before us. We again look to Christ Jesus our Lord as we commune with God, with one another, and with the whole body of Christ at this table of grace.
On the night when the Lord Jesus was betrayed, he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” (Let us eat together.) In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” (Let us drink together.) For as often as we eat this bread and drink the cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
