More than a Snack

by Beth Albright

Innocent. Confused. Excluded? A young boy in his choir robe turns to me and whispers, “Why don’t we get a snack?”

Communion is being served and the members of the youngest choir do not participate. They have not received the training to understand and share in this great gift yet.

A snack. No, my child. This is not a snack. A snack is eaten to temporarily satisfy our hunger. A snack is only to tide us over until we get to the proper meal. Snacks rot when they are forgotten in a school backpack. Don’t ask me how I know.

Jesus is not a snack. He is the Bread of Life. Those who come together to share in the gift of Jesus will never be spiritually hungry again. He knows and perfectly fulfils our every need. He gave His body and spilled His blood to buy us eternal freedom from the consequences of our sin, which is death. He unites us to be His body on earth, to serve Him by loving others.

Jesus gives us Himself that we might never be hungry again. That is more than a snack.

During Lent 2011, we are encouraging the St. Philip the Deacon community to reflect on the Sacrament of Holy Communion — recalling early memories, describing memorable celebrations of Communion, or reflecting on how Communion informs daily life. This post is part of that series. We invite your reflections about Communion, as well. If you would like to submit something for this series, please send it to Pastor Cheryl Mathison at cmathison@spdlc.org.

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