Dearest Grace,
Last week someone asked me what it was like for my wife Carol and I to serve communion over and over and over again on Good Friday. If you were not able to be at our Good Friday gathering, there was a portion of the gathering where we took Communion. There were several Communion “stations” staggered across the front of the auditorium and people would go to the stations to partake. Most of the time, groups of 5 to 7 people would receive Communion together. The picture below is of my friend and co-worker Patrick who was the last person to receive Communion because he was working throughout the gathering.
Anyway, people would come and we’d offer them the bread and then we’d offer them the cup. We did this over and over again saying “This is our tangible reminder that our greatest hope in life and our greatest hope in death is that we are not our own but we belong to the Lord. So we pause to remember who Jesus is and what Jesus has done.” While this was taking place over and over, God brought three important reminders to my mind. First, what I am called to do is offer Jesus to others. Keep pointing people to Christ. Steer clear of bringing the attention to myself and always point to Jesus. Second, I was also reminded of the special call that Carol and I have together as husband and wife. Every marriage starts out with two people eager to please one another, but over time life takes over and it gets harder and harder to put the other person first. And this is just one more reason why we need Jesus.
Every time I seek to be the man God calls me to be and every time by the grace of God Carol seeks to be the woman God calls her to be, Jesus meets us there. He works inside of us there. He helps you there. We find the power to forgive because in Jesus we are forgiven. We find the power to love sacrificially because Jesus gave himself up for us. We find the power to endure in our marriage by fixing our eyes on Jesus, who endured the cross. We find the power to serve each other by looking to Jesus who took on the form of a servant.
As we strive (very imperfectly, mind you) to see our marriage anchored in the love that Jesus has for us, we are now able to offer that same type of love to each other and every time we do, the hope is that we are both demonstrating that we ourselves have encountered a God of love.
Finally, I was reminded that the Jesus I offer to others is the Jesus I need just as much as anyone! It’s so easy for me to get caught up in the work of “ministry,” that I neglect to let Jesus minister to me. I think about what I can say to others from God’s word and often forget that God desires to speak to me through His word. I point others to prayer, but can easily neglect to pray. Or, I pray for others while neglecting to ask others to pray for me. The Jesus I offer is the Jesus I need!
Switching gears, this coming Wednesday we have an opportunity to talk with the Jewish Federation of Greater D.C. They will be coming to Grace to learn about how we try to help people get connected to our church, our engagement with the community, and how we desire to help people feel loved and accepted. I’m so excited for our time together with them and, if you think of it, please pray that Jesus will shine brightly to each of them through our words and our actions.
We also have a team that landed in the Middle East on Monday. Please keep them and their families in your prayers as well.
Hope you enjoy the rest of your week! God is with you and He is kind.
Pastor rich