The fact that we worship a God we cannot see should never be taken to mean that God is not there. God gave us this meal to celebrate together in order to commune with Him.
On the one hand, you could close your eyes and try to shut everything out and try to commune with God in a way that ignores or rejects everyone around you, like some kind of spiritual cocoon. And while that might look or feel super spiritual, it isn’t what Jesus told us to do. He told us to share this bread and wine together with thankfulness, believing in Him, and in His death for our sins.
On the other hand, you could collapse communion with God entirely into this moment. And assume that since you ate the bread and drank the wine that you must have communed with God. You did the religious thing. You checked the religious box. Maybe you even felt religious while doing it. But God is not mocked. He is not fooled. We cannot hide from God even in a church service. He sees all the hearts of men. He knows us completely. And He knows whether we are truly seeking Him or not.
His promise is simple: to those who truly seek Him, they will truly find Him. To those with eyes to see, they will see evidences of His presence. To those with ears to hear, they will hear His voice in His Word. To those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, they will be filled.
So this is the charge. Do not seek God elsewhere, somewhere in the silence or darkness of your heart. No, seek Him here, at this table, in His word, with His people. Open your eyes, open your ears, smile at the people around you, pass the bread, taste the wine, bounce the toddler on your lap, and so commune with your Savior. He promised that where two or three gathered in His name, He would always be in their midst. He said that this is His body broken for you, His shed blood poured out for you. Here He gives Himself to us as a sheer gift. And He can do this because He is Emmanuel. He is God with us.
So Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ.
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
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