Not continuity, calm, comfort, or convenience
October 27th, 2024 – Communion Meditation
During our recent visit to Serbia, we stayed in a fairly remote location on the side of a mountain, where no matter what direction you looked in, you could only see at most one or two houses and a few sheep. One day the power went out because of high winds in the area. Our electricity was off for the better part of a day. We quickly realized how much we depend on electricity, and how attached we are to the conveniences and comforts it provides: internet, charging our phones, lights, refrigeration, cooking and heating up food, hot coffee, hot water, even flushing and washing our hands (because of the electric pump for the well water). But the nine of us in the house are all pretty adventurous (two being babies), so we did the best we could, and it worked out just fine. A couple of days later, the power went out again. This time the power company informed us that they were doing routine maintenance work from 9am to 5pm. Not too bad, until we realized that they would be doing it every day for an entire week. Even though we had just gone through an electricity-free day a few days earlier, it felt like we were suddenly hit by midflight turbulence. After considering various possibilities, we all agreed that the best option was to adjust our schedules, alarm clocks, and expectations to accommodate the planned outages and make the best of it.
Consider places in your life where you’ve expected continuity, but things were interrupted. Consider places in your life where you’ve longed for calmer waters, but found yourself struggling to keep afloat. Consider places in your life where you long for comfort, but things never seem to quite settle down. Consider places in your life where you wish for simpler ways of getting things done, but life just seems to get more complicated. We are not promised continuity, calm, comfort, or convenience in this life. What we are promised is that no matter what our circumstances, God is with us. Whatever our needs, God will provide. Whatever our challenges, God will help us. Whatever our pursuits, God will direct us. Whatever our fears, God is our peace.
May we each more fully receive and live in Jesus’ assurance from Matthew 28:20, “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
On the night that Jesus was betrayed, he took the bread and said, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” (Eat together)
Again, Jesus took the cup and said, “This is my blood of the new covenant poured out for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” (Drink together)
