If we are not careful that is what it comes down to. Are there “chicklet” shaped crackers in the tray as it goes by or is there a Matzo cracker and I need to break off a piece? And if it is breaking a piece off, how small of a piece can I break, and if the cracker breaks in half, do I double break it? How big of a piece am I supposed to get? I guess either is okay because they are both baked without any leavening agent. If you haven’t figured it out by now, I am talking about the part of the Lord’s Supper or communion were Jesus broke bread with the apostles to start a practice that has become a tradition today.
What, that’s a tradition? Then we better stop it because tradition is a bad word when it comes to religion. Well, yea it is, but when it comes to Jesus, it was only bad when it got in the way of God’s commands. The practice of taking the bread was to remember what Jesus was about to do for them--or for us, to remember what He did for us. It becomes a tradition when we are adamant about making sure we have it in our service each week, but we forget to focus on the true meaning of it. Sounds a lot like the Pharisees, doesn’t it?
It goes back to a lot of what we do each week--not incorrect, but is it really correct? I know it’s a dicing of words, but if we are not careful, we become just like the Pharisees. They also threw in convenience and what was best for them. Which we do also. Again, not saying we are wrong, but we do need to examine every now and then the why behind what we do. Why do we do things the way we do?
Let’s go back to the chicklets. Jesus broke bread, so if we pick up a chicklet sized piece of dough without any leaven in it, have we really “broke bread”? Well, if the emphasis was on the breaking, then we have failed. I believe that the emphasis was on something more important--His body-- which is not dependent on the dough being broken or being picked up. And though we faithfully have communion weekly, if it is not pleasing to our Heavenly Father or if it is done in an unworthy way or with an unworthy attitude, then yes, it is wrong. Do we grasp the magnitude of what He did for us? Is it more than a chicklet shaped piece of dough?
Sometimes we worry so much about doing right, when God really wants us to focus on being right. He wants us to think, to realize, to grasp what we are doing and why. Do we “sing to one another” during the songs, or just mindlessly have words associated with notes come out of our mouths? The notes we hit, or don’t hit, aren’t as important as the attitude toward others as the words flow from, hopefully, our hearts. So as you sing to one another, don’t be afraid to look at one another. And as the tray comes by with the chicklets made of unleavened dough, take a second and think. Appreciate how much you are loved by your Heavenly Father. How much more than a piece of dough it is that you just picked up. How much more than a tradition.
Grateful for His Love,
Randy
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