Something happened at church last night that has stuck with me. My family and I were sitting in the front row of the church, and when time came for communion we dutifully got up and received the blessed sacrament. As we were returning to our seats, I saw the elderly woman that was sitting at the end of our pew struggling to get up, it was then she reached for my hand, with her husband on one side of her and me on the other, we helped her to make her way up to the extraordinary minister.
Here is this woman who walks with a walker, barely able to move without help, was not going to be denied receiving our Lord in the Eucharist. How many times have we waited for God to come to us? How many times would we have been perfectly justified in just staying where we are? This woman did not have to get up, the EMHC would have gladly come to her, but she was not going to be denied. It humbled me, to this woman, receiving Christ was the only thing she wished to do. Anyone who says communion is purely symbolic, that it is nothing more than a piece of unleavened bread and a sip of wine, should have seen the determination in this woman. She was not going to be denied.
It reminded me of the story in the Bible of the woman who forced herself through the crowd just to touch the hem of Jesus' garment (Luke 8:40-48). Jesus pulled her to her feet and said "Daughter, your faith has saved you, go in peace".
I will remember that woman in my prayers, and never forget the powerful lesson she taught me.
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WOW that's an awesome story! I actually just recently had a dialogue with my SIL (A believer in Ray Comfort's evangelical understanding of Scripture) and she's trying to argue to me that the Eucharist is not biblically based. That no where in Scripture is this teaching found. She said, "Should we say that the disciples who were sitting right there with Jesus, actually thought that what Jesus was holding in his hands was his own body and blood? That would be ridiculous."
But it's stories like your blog post that give sufficient proof of the Grace we receive everytime we receive communion. For that I am thankful.
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