Serving Communion

For a couple of sermon series now, our church has served communion every Sunday. During this series called "Snapshots" about the different ways Jesus described himself in the gospel of John, we have continued this practice. I can't think of a better way to lead up to the glorious Easter weekend. At Crossbridge we come individually, whenever you're ready, and are served communion by the leaders (community group leaders, PAT, or ministry team leaders). Reed and I have had the blessed opportunity to serve in this way. I really LOVE it! Sure, the first time I was a little nervous but as my sisters and brothers came up to be a part of this beautiful ceremony, that all went away. Some of them I know, some of them I don't but when they come to us Reed holds the plate and as they take the bread he says their name if he knows it (or remembers it!) and then, "This is the body of Christ broken for you." and then to me where they dip the bread into the cup and again, I say their name and then, "This is the blood of Christ shed for you."

This sacrament never fails to overwhelm me. I am overwhelmed by God's acceptance of me and the price that was paid for it. I'm overwhelmed by how prideful and sinful I am and how beautiful Jesus' death and resurrection is. But what really moves me is getting to serve this cup to those who have accepted it's meaning and precious grace which has delivered them from the pit. Terrible pits. As my friends come forward, those whose testimonies I know, I think of their lonely, searching, fruitless and purposeless lives before they received this free gift of God and were delivered. I think of the sacrifice made for them and I think of their indispensible roles in the chuch body now, full of purpose, meaning and ministry. And if I don't know the person's story, well, I can only imagine but it is still incredibly moving. Friends, it is so beautiful.

A couple of weeks ago I actually got choked up and started to cry as we were serving. My voice wavered and cracked as I said the words while thinking about these things. I had to kind of pull it together and think on something else for a minute!

There are people who seem embarassed or nervous and move past so quickly that Reed and I are practically talking on top of each other! There are some who look me dead in the eye and wait for me to say it and seem to soak it in. Some of my friends will smile at me (especially if that's our only "hi" for the day!). Sometimes people say thank you. I even had one person who had not done communion in this way at our church before, who took the whole cup from me and took a drink. I was taken a little off guard, but let him have it anyway. (We later laughed about it as he explained his background and confusion over what he was supposed to do!)

I would encourage you to simply take your time, don't hurry, and recieve the blessing thinking of your own deliverance and the great gift of Christ. Oh, and if you're ever asked to serve, jump on it! It's such a joy to be a part of this amazing symbol of Jesus and His message to us all.