dear friends.

“Maybe that’s what he means when he says, “Do this in remembrance of me.” The “do this” part is our lives. Opening ourselves up to the mystery of resurrection, open for the liberation of others, allowing our bodies to be broken and our blood to be poured, discovering our Eucharist. Listening. And going. Because when we do this in remembrance of him, the world will never be the same; we will never be the same.”
-Rob Bell & Don Golden (Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile)

I have a feeling that I might get more responses for the source of my quote (Rob Bell), than for the content of this blog – oh well. Lately I have been feeling that I have become impersonal and stand offish in my blogs, for that I apologize.

It’s been a really hard week for me. Now, my tone when I say that is not “woe is me” but, “praise the Lord.” As I mentioned in last week’s blog, God has been making it continuously obvious to me where I fall short in the area of faith. And now, as I go through the Old Testament (for OT Lit class), I find myself studying a God who couldn’t possibly be the one I worship. Could he?

I tried for the longest time to suppress those doubts – covering them with some lame rational I conjured up in my mind using reason – always reason. Millard Erickson wrote, in one of his introductory level Christian doctrine books, about the gift of reason that distinguishes humans from all other creatures.

Ironic.

That very thing that has been bestowed upon us as a gift is the very thing that deters us from acknowledging the Giver.

An area where a lot of my (very finite) “brain power” has been allocated recently is in the understanding of the Eucharist. One of the blessings I am finding of attending an Anglican Church this year is the weekly observance of the Eucharist. And in that book quoted above, Rob and Don speak on the importance for the Eucharist to not only permeate into a momentary state of remembrance, but into our lives. Paul tells us to, “follow him as he follows Christ.” (1 Cor. 11:1).

I wonder how literal Paul took his following of Christ. Surely we are not called to follow Him to the point of embarrassment, to the point of death?

And so it is beginning to dawn on me, that as I eat of His body and drink of His blood – a feeling of gratitude should be met with an equal feeling of conviction, of encouragement, of sorrow for the oppressed. In the book, Rob and Don told the reader to try and partake in the Eucharist with those who you are holding grudges against – those feelings of animosity wouldn’t last long.

Like other blogs past, I feel as if this blog is best written in few words. So I thank you, for your prayers – I ask that you would continue to persist in your prayers with me before God, come on – I’m quoting Rob Bell – obviously I need them.

Just a joke.