At church a few weeks back. my friend Lynda mentioned after the service that she loves to see Micah smile when it is time for Communion. Her comment made me laugh as that smile she caught on my son’s face is his “game on” expression for what has become a monthly battle of wills between us.
Our church celebrates Communion once a month, generally with lovely loaves of fresh baked bread and small plastic cups of juice that are passed from person to person down the pews. Proper protocol is that each person who wants to take Communion takes a small bite size chunk of bread out of the loaf, then passes it to the next person. When Micah reached the age that his peers began to take Communion, I began to break off a piece of bread for him and held it until our pastor told us to “Take, eat, in remembrance of Me”. As time passed it seemed appropriate to allow Micah to be more independent by allowing him to take his own cup of juice and piece of bread. What I quickly learned was that Micah had been eyeing the delicious loaf of bread and bidding his time to partake of more than a polite bite from the Lord’s table. When he first decided to take half of the loaf I clamped down on his hand in what I hoped was a discrete way of letting him know to let go. What happened was a tightening to a vice grip on the bread while I tried to pry his fingers off without creating a scene. It did not help that the ushers were trying not to laugh at his antics. By the time the loaf was released, it looked like it had been hit by a truck and Micah was happily holding a good handful of soft delicious bread. Score for Micah, a win he has not forgotten to this day. Thus continues the monthly adventure of encouraging Micah to participate in Communion without wiping out the bread before everyone has had a chance to partake.
I suspect that Lynda caught the smile on Micah’s face as he prepared to do what he feels is his part in making sure none of the bread is wasted. In Micah’s defense it is generally about lunch time when Communion is served and there have been times when I was hungry enough to want to grab the whole loaf too. Even more in his defense is the reality that the Lord himself said to take the elements in remembrance of Him, and my guess is that He is smiling at the exuberance in which Micah accepts that invitation. Perhaps all of us have something to learn from Micah about enjoying the gift to the fullest. Yes Micah needs to remember to share, but why should most of the gift be left on the table? Let us learn from Micah to take, eat, remember, and relish the gift with joy.
Jan Lessard Peightell February 27, 2020