MONDAY, August 23

John 6:52-59. This is the bread that came down from heaven…The one who eats this bread will live forever.

In making hospital rounds I once visited a lady and asked if she would like to receive Holy Communion. For three Mondays her answer was the same: “Oh, I don’t feel very well in the mornings, so I guess I’ll just skip it today.” Finally, I suggested that Holy Communion might be just what she needed to make her feel better all the time. She looked at me as though such a thing had never occurred to her. The hospital is not the place for sermons, so let me tell you what I would like to have said to her.

The Blessed Sacrament is not like hot cereal or a dessert that one decides to “just skip” today. This is the bread of life! Millions can attest to the healing love, strength, and grace that have come into their bodies, minds, and souls through this very bread. Don’t we believe Jesus? Don’t we believe what as a sacramental church we have always professed? If anyone eats Christ’s Body and drinks his Blood, that person lives forever. How tragic that when Jesus offers himself for us in our greatest need, we should reject him. Let it not be so among you. (1971)

Blessed Lord, Bread of Life, come to me with your healing love.

PRAY for the Diocese of Gboko (Nigeria)

Ps 1, 2, 3 * 4, 7; Job 4:1; 5:1-11, 17-21, 26-27; Acts 9:19b-31

View the daily Lectionary Readings at Satucket.com.
Or view the Bible passages at Biblegateway.com.

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Aug 23, 2010 at 6:41 am

Written by Sandy,

I believe Jesus. That is why whenever offered I bring my broken body, mind & spirit to recieve Christ's most holy Body & Blood. I need His precious gift & His healing grace to help me and all who I love and keep in my prayers. Thank you Jesus!!!

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Aug 23, 2010 at 9:04 am

Written by Terry,

As a chaplain, I too offer communion to people in the hospital. I too am distressed by the number who refuse, and that happens more than not. The bread of life, the bread of life- who would say no...

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Aug 23, 2010 at 9:25 am

Written by Barbara Summers,

I wonder if the lady's refusal of communion went deeper than not feeling well. Perhaps she lacked true faith.

-1

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Aug 23, 2010 at 10:49 am

Written by Andrea,

I was appalled by this meditation. A woman is seriously ill and states three times that she doesn't feel well enough to eat in the morning. Regardless of the spiritual benefits of Communion, it does involve ingesting real food. Maybe this woman was undergoing chemo, or maybe her illness left her queasy. Couldn't the priest have asked her if there were times she felt more able to take food? And couldn't he have arranged his schedule to come back then? Instead, he keeps badgering her to take Communion at a time she doesn't feel well, and he lectures her in his mind (in the "sermon" he couldn't give her, but reproduces for us). He seems judgmental and lacking in compassion. Communion is a symbol of Christ's love for us. A greater symbol would have been the priest's loving response to her. (I'm a Eucharistic Visitor and take Communion to people who can't come to church, so I am well aware of the profound gift it can be. But something coerced is not a gift.)

The Rev.

Aug 23, 2010 at 12:43 pm

Written by Cynthia,

Years ago, I learned from an Order of Episcopal nuns a prayer of "Spiritual Communion" to use for those unable to physically receive Communion. It goes something like this: Gracious God, we humbly ask that you send the most precious body and blood of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ into N's soul that she (or he) may commune with him there. Amen." Anyone who finds himself or herself in the situation that the priest in today's mediation did could offer this prayer as an alternative to physical Communion. Of course, it is especially useful for those who will never be able to take physical Communion safely due to certain medical conditions.

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Aug 23, 2010 at 10:21 pm

Written by Stephanie Stover,

I understand the author's concern regarding the woman's refusal of Communion. However, I agree with Andrea that the writer could have asked if she might desire to receive Communion at a different time. Whatever illness she might have been suffering from may have prevented her from being able to take Communion in the morning. Mind, body, and spirit are truly interconnected, and sometimes it is difficult to fully comprehend that. I really like the prayer that Cynthia quotes above. I have never heard it before, but I think it is a wonderful and profound way to offer Communion to those who cannot partake of it physically.

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