This week, I am taking a vacation with my family. I have to admit that I never thought we would be on a vacation like this, because this year we splurged and went to Disney World. I have never been before, and wanted to offer this amazing experience to my own children. I must admit I am absolutely amazed. I have never, ever experienced anything like this. It isn't just that the rides are thrilling or the senses stimulated or even the grandiose nature of the operation. It is so much more. It is a level of customer service that I have never experienced. The motto here is "where dreams come true," and the staff does everything they possibly can to make that a reality. Whether it is asking a little 6 year old girl (Violet) dressed up as a princess "what can I do to help make your day more magical?' because she is wearing a "1st visit" button. Or offering twin 10 year old boys (Brooks and Elliot) extra special treatment on their birthday by giving them a button so every single employee wishes them a happy birthday. Or providing transportation services at the exact times crowds would be at their highest so that tired daddies and mommies (David and I) would have minimal waits to get their kiddos back to the hotel. Every moment of this experience is anticipating the needs of customers above and beyond what would be expected. I've stayed at hotels before, I've gone to plenty of amusement parks, but never have I been treated with this much, well, thoughtfulness. The kindness, generosity and abundance is quite honestly above what I have paid for.
On Sunday, we will celebrate Holy Communion. It is a reminder to us all how much grace we have been given, well above and beyond what is owed. None of us earned this love, paid for it, or even anticipated it. This grace is given freely and beyond measure, simply out of God's nature. Grace is found in moments where we experience God's individual attention, in ways that we know we are truly loved. Or times where we are in the majesty of creation that is truly inspiring. Or moments when God knows we need a respite and rest arrives. Being in communion with God is beyond magical, it is grace-filled. And in our discipleship it is simply immeasurable.
But our everyday human relationships are not often filled with such grace are they? They are more complicated, messy and even difficult. Feelings have been hurt, history has been made, and patterns have been formed in our everyday interactions. It is more difficult to see grace in those situations because we expect history to repeat itself, we close ourselves off for self-protection, and sometimes we even anticipate the worst of others in our desire to control. But I wonder if something might happen for us in the Eucharist that is grace-filled.
In our passage for this Sunday, Mark 14:22-25, we hear that Jesus blessed the bread and cup and they all shared. How is it that when the disciples shared of this bread and cup, it changed them? What did it make them more aware of? Did God's grace become evident to them in that moment or as they reflected on the significance of these words later on, how it had simply been "given" to them? Perhaps in that giving of grace, it made them more willing to give in their discipleship as well. Perhaps it might do so for us as well. May we all be so filled with the immeasurable grace of God that we share it as disciples.
Be a blessing,
Alex
On Sunday, we will celebrate Holy Communion. It is a reminder to us all how much grace we have been given, well above and beyond what is owed. None of us earned this love, paid for it, or even anticipated it. This grace is given freely and beyond measure, simply out of God's nature. Grace is found in moments where we experience God's individual attention, in ways that we know we are truly loved. Or times where we are in the majesty of creation that is truly inspiring. Or moments when God knows we need a respite and rest arrives. Being in communion with God is beyond magical, it is grace-filled. And in our discipleship it is simply immeasurable.
But our everyday human relationships are not often filled with such grace are they? They are more complicated, messy and even difficult. Feelings have been hurt, history has been made, and patterns have been formed in our everyday interactions. It is more difficult to see grace in those situations because we expect history to repeat itself, we close ourselves off for self-protection, and sometimes we even anticipate the worst of others in our desire to control. But I wonder if something might happen for us in the Eucharist that is grace-filled.
In our passage for this Sunday, Mark 14:22-25, we hear that Jesus blessed the bread and cup and they all shared. How is it that when the disciples shared of this bread and cup, it changed them? What did it make them more aware of? Did God's grace become evident to them in that moment or as they reflected on the significance of these words later on, how it had simply been "given" to them? Perhaps in that giving of grace, it made them more willing to give in their discipleship as well. Perhaps it might do so for us as well. May we all be so filled with the immeasurable grace of God that we share it as disciples.
Be a blessing,
Alex
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