What Communion Means to Me

I consider Communion a very special and sacred time to think and a time to thank.

With the passing of the bread, the symbol or metaphor for life, I think about the words and deeds of Jesus during his ministry. I’ve always thought that most of all he did and said can be summed up in two sentences. —“This is what God is like” and “This is what God hopes, indeed expects, us to be like”.

So Communion is my time to think about my successes and failures, in measuring up to these often-difficult expectations, and to pray for forgiveness and for guidance in the future.

Communion, for me, is also a time to thank. With the passing of the cup, I thank God for all the many blessings and undeserved gifts I have received. Thanks for family, friends, and this church of devoted and caring members who are here today. We share this time and our lives together, especially in times like this when the country seems to be so divided and polarized.

I especially thank God for His forgiveness, unconditional love, and reconciliation, as shown in Jesus. And I remember the last line of that well-known hymn – “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my life, my soul, my all.”

–Dr. Reid Roberts, Deacon Emeritus