Come as you are
June 25th, 2023 – Communion Meditation
Paul & I and our daughter Cascade had dinner this week with her pastor. We shared all kinds of stories, including some crazy funeral stories and what could only be described as communion-meditations-gone-wild. One infamous occasion in their church involved someone starting their Communion Meditation with something like, “Did you know that piranhas are the most dangerous predators for cows?” It’s hard to imagine how this fit with a short meditation on communion, but we enjoyed hearing the story. We talked about how so many beautiful and encouraging things happen when we, the church, do church together, even with the occasional piranha story mixed in.
We all come to the Table with different perspectives, different emotions, different burdens, different joys, different personalities, different stories. Jesus invites us to come as we are. We might be feeling more worshipful than usual today. We might be thinking about piranhas and cows. We might be worried about a family member. We might be troubled by something we saw on the news. We might be in pain. We might be wondering how we’re going to pay that bill. We might be anxious about the future. We might be struggling to focus because we haven’t been sleeping well. Wherever we’re at, Jesus invites you to the table, to come as you are. Hear Jesus’s invitation from Matthew 11:28-29 – “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Let’s pause for a few moments, close our eyes, and engage our imaginations. See Jesus beckoning you to come to him. Take your weariness and your heavy burdens and lay them down. Receive the rest that Jesus is giving you. Receive Jesus’s rest in your body, your mind, your heart, and your soul.
Matthew 26:26-28 – “While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ Then he 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.”
