Tales From the Church Refridgerator: A Wow Meal

Once upon a time, before Gloria and I were married, one of my sisters went with us to church on Sunday morning.  I cannot remember exactly how old she was, but I am sure she was younger than any of my children now,  six-years-old.  We sat through the service, and it went along like it normally did.  This Sunday, though, was Communion Sunday.  The minister, Ms. Alewine, led us through the liturgy and reminded us that Jesus told his disciples to "eat" and "drink" and that as we do so do it "in remembrance of me."  So, we were offered the body of blood of Christ.

You have probably heard that our early Christian peeps were accused of being atheists because they did not follow the religion of Rome.  They were also considered to be cannibals because they regularly ate the body of Jesus, and who wants to do that?  Well, I can tell you my younger sister did not.  As Ms. Alewine approached us, of course, she offered us the body and the blood.  My unnamed sister trembled and repeatedly said, "I don't wanna eat Jesus' body!" and "I don't wanna drink his blood!"  We did not make her take Communion that day, but figured it was a good idea to explain our understanding of the experience beforehand.  It was a funny story for us, and has always helped me appreciate what we do as God's people at the Communion table.

Fast forward a decade or so.  It is another Communion Sunday.  Gloria and I are married, and now I am the one leading people through the liturgy and offering the elements of Communion, the body and blood of Christ.  Yes, God does strange things.  On this occasion our church is celebrating Communion with someone we had just welcomed as a new member.  We try our best to welcome new members on Communion Sunday so that the first thing we do together as Christ's church is to share in God's holy meal. 

I will admit, for our bunch, the service was going into overtime.  Since I work one day a week it did not bother me, but I am mindful that some people do get anxious.  Understand that some days we are just too legit to quit, hey! hey!  Hear me as I reverently appeal to you: Get over it.  Sweet Jesus, did I just type that out loud? 

Still, I am not convinced many people felt the time difference; it was an exciting time. We had finished the liturgy.  We had prayed together.  Now, I stood in front of the congregation and raised the body of Christ for all to see.  Sure, the bread had been prepped for me with a small slit to help me begin the breaking of the bread.  But I still try to make it apparent I am breaking the bread apart.  So, with hands raised high, I slowly broke apart the body of our Lord.  It is something I have done many times.  This time was a bit more meaningful, and another young child helped it to be so.

Everyone else, I suppose, probably knew what I was doing and even, perhaps, appreciated it.  It was the soft voice of a young boy that made this difference.  Only a few of us heard him.  Crumbs fell from the loaf as I slowly turned to make sure everyone saw the broken bread.  Everyone saw, but it was the young boy who had wonder and amazement in his voice and said, "Wow!"

When we consider what God has done for us, and all that God's love does within us, it seems like "Wow!" can be an appropriate response.  Look out your window--wow!  Think about your family--wow!  In the name of Jesus Christ, you have been forgiven--wow!  Prayers have been answered--wow! That Sunday many of us received the elements of Communion like we usually do.  This time, however, we replaced our "Amen" with "Wow!"  Thanks be to God!

I want more wow moments.  It seems like that means that I need to pay attention more and more.  And you?  What about God makes you say, "Wow!" today?