A Supper You Do Not Want to Miss!

Thursday afternoon, September 11, 2008 [cloudy and 84 degrees],
Over the past couple of days, I have been reading Frederick Buechner's book, "The Faces of Jesus" and, although, I do not agree with everything he says, I do recommend it to you. Rest assured that he is an excellent writer, one who makes you think, even if you do not desire to do so. At any rate the following is a quote from this book (p. 62-63): "In the fullest sense, remembering is far more than a long backward glance, and in its fullest sense the symbol of bread and wine is far more than symbol. It is part of the mystery of any symbol always to contain something of the power of the thing symbolized just as it is more than a mere piece of painted cloth that makes your pulse quicken when you come upon your country's flag in a foreign country. When in remembrance of Jesus, the disciples ate the bread and drank the wine, it was more than mere bread and wine they were consuming, and for all the tragic and ludicrous battles Christians have fought with each other for centuries over what actually takes place at the Mass, the Eucharist, Communion, or whatever they call it, they would all seem to agree that something extraordinary takes place. Even if the priest is a fraud, the bread a tasteless wafer, the wine no wine at all but temperance grape juice, the one who comes to this outlandish meal in faith may find there something to feed his deepest hunger, a new life to bring him alive. Or of course he may find nothing. Unlike magic whereby if you say 'abracadabra' right the spell will always work, religion does not make anything always work; and faith cannot be sure of things happening the way it wants because it is God who makes things happen the way God wants. Faith can only wait in hope and trust. Sometimes God makes Himself known by His presence, sometimes by His absence, and for both faith and unfaith the absence of God is dark and menacing."
Seeing the American flag flying in a foreign country does, indeed, quicken my pulse but that quickening cannot be compared to the quickening that occurs when I stand before His Table, the table of the Eucharist, the table that is set and waiting for His children to arrive. Although I do this every Sunday, I never cease to be amazed at the stirring that goes on within my very soul as I, along with the rest of my flock, eat the bread and drink the wine of the Supper.
I realize that I wrote about this supper a few days ago; even so, I want to keep reminding you that you are missing so much if this Supper is not a major part of your life.
Maybe it is time for you to approach your pastor and remind him/her that this supper is more important than his/her preaching, that you would like for it to be given a place of extreme importance in the life of the church you attend, that you would like for the emphasis to be removed from him and placed onto Jesus. Well, that might be a bit rough on the pastor's ego, so go easy, but do take a stand.