Relentless

November 13th, 2022 – Communion Meditation

This week we had the blessing of staying for a couple of nights right beside the Atlantic Ocean. We arrived quite late at night and although we could hear the relentless pounding of the waves through a closed door, even when we opened it and stood outside facing the ocean, we couldn’t see it. Late the following afternoon we walked along the beach and were able to experience the ocean with all of our senses. Such beauty all around! Others enjoyed it with us. Beach walks tend to be places of great camaraderie. “Wow! Beautiful!” is contagious when there is such grandeur and majesty all around. The following morning, a hurricane that had developed further south days earlier sent us an intense cloud cover, such that we didn’t see the sky for a couple of days. We couldn’t see the ocean at all even in daylight because of a dense fog that rolled in, obscuring all of it from view and making us long for clearer vision. But the ocean, along with its tides and waves, is relentless, and continues to surge and sway, every moment of every day. When we’re wide awake and intently focusing on it, it is still there. When the ocean’s movements are obscured by fog or night, it remains relentless.

The Kingdom of God is like that. Whether we see God moving, whether we hear God’s voice, whether we taste God’s goodness, whether we get a whiff of God’s presence, God is here, God is with us, God is everywhere at all times and in all circumstances. God is with us. The Kingdom of God is already (but not yet fully) here. At any moment, we might experience God’s Kingdom breaking through. The love, beauty, truth, and goodness of God are relentless. These markers of God’s Kingdom are ever-present, because He is ever-present. Christ gave us these important words to His followers in Matthew 28:20 (NRSV): “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” The original Greek for this verse says, “I am with you all the days until the completion of the age.” The Greek word translated “all” used here carries with it the connotation that Jesus included the whole of each day, every kind of day, with the emphasis being on one piece at a time. One task at a time, one hour at a time, one breath at a time. Jesus has promised His person, His power, His promises, His very presence, even when our senses cannot detect Him.

In communion, we are invited to experience the person, power, promises, and presence of Christ. No matter what part of the day we’re in, no matter what kind of day we’re having, Jesus is with us. He invites us to follow Him. Let us together join Him at the table today and enter in fully to this time of communion with Christ with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Jesus is with us always, even right now.

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)

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)