Broken By You April 23, 2010
Posted by Dan R. Dick in Christian witness, Congregational Life, Core Values, Personal Reflection.Tags: Christian discipleship, church, Values
3 comments
I remember attending the worship of a young pastor a few year’s ago who was presiding over his first communion. He served a rural congregation, known far and wide for the ongoing conflicts within the small fellowship. It was hoped he could bring peace to an embattled situation. As he raised the bread and pulled it apart, he intoned loudly, “This is the body of Christ, broken by you.” He hesitated, realizing his mistake, and rosy-red flushed both cheeks. But instead of going on, instead of apologizing, he lowered the bread and looked out at the congregation and said, “I meant to say, ‘broken for you,’ which is the glorious gift of God to us; but I am going to stand by what I just said. This church is breaking the body of Christ in an unacceptable way. Christ did not die for us so that we could continue in our sin. Christ died that we might have a chance to start over. I invite us all to share in this communion meal as an act of repentance from what we have been, and a pledge and promise to become something better.” I was deeply impressed by this young man’s courage. Sadly, all but a handful of the congregation went forward to receive communion that day.
