My Charlotte, NC son-in-love was preaching his first sermon at his new church home. Naturally, I drove up to share the joy-filled milestone. He made not only me but also God very proud. However, this blog is not about my bragging on my family. It’s about the moment that day when I realized I’m thinking thimble, not chalice.
The lightbulb went on as I tried to partake of Holy Communion. The elements were in my hands, and I was front and center struggling to open them. Now, I don’t mean a little pull on the tab. It was an all-out tug of war. Past when the elements had been congregationally taken, my top protective barrier was finally released — pulled open so forcibly that the contents graced not my consumption but rather my attire. I should have been embarrassed. I wasn’t. Instead, I was tuned in to Christ exclaiming, “You’re lucky man serves in a thimble. I offered a chalice to mankind.”. Ouch!!
My core felt the enlightening reprimand. Christ sacrificed every single drop of his blood to win our freedom from sin. This is the biggest gift ever to be given — past, present or future. But do we really recognize this today? Could present time miniscule serving of Christ’s symbolic blood diminish in our sight the magnitude of His sacrificial gift? For many, I sadly feel, it does.
We are a society of X-large size beverages. I, myself, sport a 64-ounce water bottle to be daily consumed. For a healthy life, I drain that bottle once or twice a day; but question is shouldn’t I desire vast amounts of Christ’s redeeming lifeline too? Instead, I delegate it to a thimble. Believe me, I fully know less than even a tiny drop of Christ’s blood can save the entire world. However, shouldn’t I thirst after Christ’s lifesaving water and want to consume it by the gallon? Why do I nonchalantly feel a thimble is enough — and this not even a daily need or want?
On Holy Thursday, Christ passed a chalice full of His representational blood to His apostles. His gesture symbolized His giving in abundance and from His all. Do we remember this as we expect and settle for a drop in a thimble? Maybe this sheds a light on how we forget Christ’s ever flowing stream of redemptive waters still pours forth on each and every one of us today.
Christ, His redemptive blood, forgiveness and grace are not tightly wrapped in a thimble. They forever flow forth in living streams from the chalice of wounds hammered into the palms of His hands. Thus, I ask, when you partake of Communion, does a chalice or a thimble nourish your being?
Uplifted in a Broken Down World 