ODJ: a large portion

September 6, 2015 

READ: Luke 22:7-30 

He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me” (v.19).

As I was putting my 11 year old son to bed one night, we finally got around to talking about what had happened at church that morning. When we went forward to take communion, he used only one hand to break off the bread. As a result, he ended up with an exceptionally large piece—causing me and the administering elder to break into smiles.

“I didn’t want to touch someone else’s bread by using two hands, I just used my right hand,” my son explained. “And the bread just kept coming and coming.”

After reflecting a minute, he looked at me and said, “Mum, do you think God wants me to partake (yes, he said “partake”!) in a big portion of the body? Maybe that’s why that happened.”

Let’s consider what God desires for us to experience as we take the bread in communion. When Jesus gathered His disciples for the Last Supper prior to His crucifixion, “He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me’ ” (Luke 22:19).

Earlier in His ministry, Jesus proclaimed, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh” (John 6:51).

When we prepare to take communion, may we also meditate on 1 Corinthians 11:24, which states that Jesus’ body was “given for [us]”. And as we take the bread, let’s reflect on what Christ has done for us. Our relationship with God is healed by means of His body being broken.

It’s not about the size of the piece of bread; it’s that we remember Jesus as we take it.

—Roxanne Robbins

365-day-plan: Matthew 23:1-39