A trail of crumbs and droplets
A trail of crumbs and droplets
February 1st, 2026 – Communion Meditation
We come to the table of communion each week to receive the bread and the cup, and in doing so, God is faithful to give us fresh grace and strength. But more than that, in Communion, we have a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. We meet with the Lord, together in the body of Christ, and, somehow, we mysteriously partake of the divine life, the life of God.
Jesus said something very curious to his disciples after miraculously feeding thousands and thousands of people with just a couple of loaves of bread and a few fish, in John 6:12 (ESV) – “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” In the kingdom of God, nothing is wasted, nothing is lost.
Most of the time our physical experience of Communion involves a tiny piece of bread in some form and a tiny sip of the fruit of the vine in some form. We may be facing things in our life that make us hungry for more bread, thirsty for a deeper drink. It’s all too much sometimes – bad news, deep divisions, information overload, relationship challenges, health struggles, financial stresses, life decisions, anxiety and depression, griefs and losses. These things can tempt us towards coldness, indifference, offense, cynicism, isolation, or despair. And yet somehow, at the Table of Communion, the table of grace, the tiny morsel and the tiny sip are always enough.
We come to the Table with Jesus and with one another, and we eat and drink, and that sustains us as we go out and come back week after week. And, mostly without us even noticing, everywhere we go, we leave a little trail of crumbs and droplets on the way of love. Each crumb and droplet that we leave behind hints that God is present and active in the world in greatness and goodness, in might and mercy, in nourishment and nearness, in presence and provision, in justice and joy, in healing and hope, in power and peace, in salvation and sustenance, in direction and devotion, in freedom and forgiveness, in lordship and love. Each crumb and droplet is evidence that God is always at work doing something good, holy, and beautiful, through ordinary people like you and me, to bring God’s light, love, and life to all of God’s beloved creation and all of God’s beloved image bearers.
At the Last Supper, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to those with him and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Let us eat together.
Jesus then took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Let us drink together.
