A Welcomed Distraction

Something kind of distracting happened during the Sacrament. There was a low murmur throughout the congregation as the bread was passed. It trickled row by row throughout the chapel, until everyone was in on the disruption without even talking to their neighbor. It was the bread. It tasted the way the pickle of my old Scratch-and-Sniff book smelled. Awful. The kids were going crazy with gagging faces and the parents were trying to stifle the laughs at their children's disgust. Then there's Evan who turned to me with his bright eyes and adorable grin, and said "mmmm - mimi bread" (meaning yummy bread). He doesn't normally say anything about the bread, so I think he was just saying that because he knew it tasted different and was trying to convince himself. But then it hit me. "From out of the mouths of babes" came the appropriate response. It was yummy bread. It didn't matter if it was rancid or undercooked or unleavened or even covered in frosting. It's purpose would be the same: to represent the body of Christ, beaten and humiliated and torn and sacrificed for us.

Quick tangent - the idea of bread covered in frosting reminded me that as a child I asked my mom about the sacrament water and how Christ introduced it using wine. She said we could actually use any form of liquid as long as it was blessed for the purposes of the sacrament. This excited me and I said, "Even rootbeer?" "Yes, even rootbeer if that were all that was available." I soon began to look forward to the day rootbeer was all that was available.

I am currently reading "The Life of Pi". So far I really love it. But I especially love the way he describes his introduction to Christianity and learning about the crucifixion of Christ, having only known of Hindu beliefs. Here are his thoughts: "Divinity should not be blighted by death. It's wrong. The world soul cannot die, even in one contained part of it. It was wrong of this Christian God to let His avatar die. That is tantamount to letting a part of Himself die. For if the Son is to die, it cannot be fake. If God on the Cross is God shamming a human tragedy, it turns the Passion of Christ into the Farce of Christ. The death of the Son must be real. Father Martin assured me that it was. But once a dead God, always a dead God, even resurrected. The Son must have the taste of death forever in His mouth. The Trinity must be tainted by it; there must be a certain stench at the right hand of God the Father. The horror must be real. Why would God wish that upon Himself? Why not leave death to the mortals? Why make dirty what is beautiful, spoil what is perfect? Love. That was Father Martin's answer." I love that. It's said so simply.

If you wanna hear a love story, that's the best one of all. It is the greatest Love the world has known. "For God so loved the world that he gave His only Begotten Son." The death of the Son IS real. And so is His resurrection. He sacrificed Himself for us. For me. It's humbling. It's wonderful.

The bread was bitter. But so delicious.


Reflections of Christ Video