Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:14-17

Therefore, buy cialis my dear friends, pilule flee from idolatry. I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?

Thought for the Day: In Paul’s ancient world, blood and bread were powerful, well understood symbols. In our modern era, this is no longer the case. While movie directors and great authors certainly use blood and bread in symbolic fashion (those themes occur all over “The Godfather” movies, for example), it has lost its meaning as an accepted, understood cultural metaphor.

When visitors come to our churches and hear us talking about “the blood of Christ spilled for the forgiveness of sin,” or about Christ’s body, “broken for you,” they have absolutely no background in the symbolism of these words. The words are no longer about participation in a new, God-centered community, as Paul suggests. They’ve become literal. I’ll suggest too, that even long-time Christians no longer understand the symbolism of these words, and now take literally the idea that Christ’s blood had to be spilled in atonement for human sin, and that his body had to be broken as a sacrifice, a reparation to God to “fix” the trouble with humanity. This is not what Paul meant to suggest, nor is it what the earliest followers of Jesus believed.

I’ve changed the words of institution in my church to get back to the meaning of the words. We now present the wine and bread for what they are—symbols, as Paul makes very clear in his letter to the Colossians, who were also confused about communion. The bread and wine are symbols of our unity—our unity as human beings, our unity as followers of Jesus, and our unity as one people, under God—all of us, Christian, Jew, Muslim, etc.

There is only one God, there is only one human race, and yes, it takes great personal sacrifice to acknowledge this and live a changed life—a life that participates in the communion of Jesus, a life willing to sacrifice for others rather than self. As we approach our Thanksgiving meals with family and friends—our communal meals, perhaps we’ll take a moment to think about the symbolism in our own lives, and how we, too, might live in a more enlightened community with God and our human brothers and sisters, no matter what we call ourselves (or each other).

Prayer: Show me, Lord, that a greater reality exists, just out of focus, just beyond the horizon. I know there is a hidden world, and that you want me to see it! Open my eyes! Change my heart! Lift me beyond the physical into the wonder of the metaphysical! Bring a sense of wonder, joy, and magic back to this world, too stuck in the muck of the material, too grown-up to have any imagination, and too mean to see the real meaning in life. Amen.