Communion Meditation: The Body of Christ

Jesus said of the bread, “This is my body given for you.” The bread is all about sacrifice, and sacrifice is about life given to pay for sins. When we eat the bread, we incorporate Jesus’ sacrifice into our bodies. This means, I believe, that we commit to live–and to die–as Jesus lived and died–for other people.

The word “communion” means “sharing,” and as we take the bread, we commit to share with Jesus a life given for others.

[Our Father in Heaven, as we take this bread, help us to recall the awful price that was paid so we could share in this meal, and Father, please bring to our recollection the full meaning of this ceremony. Help us to truly recommit to live — and to die — as Jesus did.]

This cup symbolizes the blood of Jesus. The scriptures say the “life is in the blood.” As we take this, we participate in the life of Jesus, a life dedicated to serving all whom he came in contact with, a life committed to God’s mission on earth.

But the wonder … the mystery of the communion is not the ritual; rather, it’s what the ritual means. Each week we are to — thoughtfully, prayerfully — be present with God and re-affirm our repentance and our commitment to be a part of Jesus’ body on earth — and so share in the work of Jesus.

[Father, keep us ever mindful that we have been saved to participate in your Son’s work on the earth, to be his hands, his feet … his body that brings healing, truth, and salvation to a dark, lost world.]