26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” 27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” 30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Matthew 26:26-30
Meditation:
Perfect Imperfections
My body is a broken toy and I am imperfectly beautiful. The words of Angie Ebba, disabled, an artist, a writer and a teacher, in an article on the website Healthline:
“I am broken. Inflammation attacks my joints and organs, and my vertebrae are slowly knitting themselves together. Sometimes I have panic attacks that morph into seizures brought on by memories of things I can’t seem to erase from my mind no matter the number of therapists I see. There are days where fatigue overwhelms me like an ocean wave and I’m unexpectedly struck down.”
It is her reality. Her story is inspiring and offers encouragement for all of us who age, become infirm, forgetful, or acquire debilitating illnesses. Each of us perfect imperfections, with unaffected talents and gifts. We see that in people we hold special, in the way they manage life or the loss of loved ones.
We, like Angie Ebba, are given a mission and are equipped to carry out that mission. Sometimes that equipping is painful, sometimes the equipping takes a long time and comes with age. Most often the equipping comes from our embracing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
We think of another broken body, and we hear those words, “This is my body broken for you…” those words should resonate with us. Each word has meaning. This is My body, because it is a body that has been placed before us by God, for us to remember what our Lord and Savior went through for us. We are the beneficiaries of that tragic and blessed investment.
This is your body, this is my body, this is love in a broken body. The two words that follow, for you, should resonate with us because what happened on that cross was personal. It was personal for you and it was personal for me. In my book, A Life for Barabbas, I imagined that Barabbas has an encounter with Jesus on Calvary, a silent glance, unspoken but with meaning and it changed his life. In truth, there were lives changed by Jesus, that saved a thousand Christian lives just ahead of the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, and the slaughter of 100,000 Jews.
What about you and your encounter with Jesus, there on Calvary? Where are our thoughts when we hear His words, “This my body being broken for you”? Do we rate the quality of the wine? Or, with tears, do we truly imagine that this is the blood of my Christ. In the symbolism of the bread, can we imagine that this in my hand represents the body of our beloved, Lord and Savior.
The reverence of the moment rests in your mind and heart, and, to be sure, in your imagination. It’s not the elements of the Sacrament, it’s the mindset of us who partake. This broken body we worship is not a toy, it is a precious gift beyond our understanding. May our minds focus on the cross and the realization that His spirit dwells within us. Amen.
Holy Spirit:
Holy Spirit, make me so dead to self and so embracing of the cross that I have no shame on judgement day in how I handled difficulty, self-denial, persecution, misunderstanding, sacrifice, suffering and the burdens of life and ministry. May the crucified life develop in me an unshakable fortitude. By Your empowerment, I will face Jesus with confidence knowing that I embraced His cross and the call to deny myself. I will walk in the blessing that You freely give, but I will also walk through this life carrying the cross of Christ. Let my unwavering fortitude and relentless commitment to Your purposes be a sign to the world that the gospel is true, and that they must repent. May my abandonment to Jesus attract people to Him. Also birth within the church this same commitment. Make us a world-wide community of sold-out saints. Birth this grace within me and within the church in Jesus name, Amen.
