Thursday, February 17, 2011

Eating Jesus

First I want to say this: I didn't want to make this post very religious, but I realized that for such a topic, that would be inevitable.  But bear with me - its just me, who I am, how I think of things, like everything else here.

Second, those of you who are still interested, you should listen to this song (How Many Kings by Downhere) while you're reading it.  In my mind, it offers an interesting coloring to the situation at hand.

There is good news, my friends.  It only involves me, of course, unless a slightly happier me is good news that involves you too.

Yes, my news is that fabulous: I've finally found a church community in Southern California that I feel at home with.  It only took me a year and a half.  (Don't worry, FPCB, I still love you dearly.  You haven't been replaced.  Just substituted with a more available community.)

To some degree, this church community has also adopted me as their resident starving college student.  As of yesterday, various members of the small group which meets on Wednesday nights will be driving me to and from the church.  Somehow, this made everyone feel more charitable to me.  Or maybe I just don't fully know United Methodists yet.

The Wednesday night service I go to has communion every week.  Last night, someone had been baking bread earlier in the day, and offered up a loaf for communion that night.  The pastor finished communion saying that it was the "best Jesus ever".

After service, he offered me the leftover dinner.  I politely declined, knowing I wouldn't eat it.  Then he offered me the leftover communion bread, something I now know is common among the Methodist church.  It was excellent bread, so naturally I accepted.  I'd been hankering after an extra piece anyways.

With a large loaf of bread at my disposal, of course I wanted to share.  I mean, we're told to share the love and the word of Jesus.  Why not share his body as well?

This, of course, is where the jokes began.

"You know how you are what you eat?"
"Sure?"
"Well, right now I'm feeling kinda cross."

"Can I have some Jesus?"
"No!  My Jesus!  I don't wanna share!"
"But..."
"Okay, I guess Jesus loves everyone."

At some point, I decided to put some of the best honey ever on Jesus.  Damn, if Jesus doesn't taste good with honey.

"Now that I've tried Jesus with honey, just Jesus isn't good enough for me."

A few comments were a little more serious, though.  One friend hesitated to join us, saying she wasn't Catholic.  We told her not to worry, the Methodists didn't care.  That they're welcoming of everyone.  So welcoming that half of one youth group probably isn't actually Christian.  So welcoming that the first song we sang my first day there was "everyone is welcome here".

At which point I invited the one friend who isn't in class Wednesday nights and who might be interested to come with me.  He wasn't sure he'd be welcome, as a non-Christian.  We assured him that nobody would care.

"Wow" he responded.  "That seems a lot more efficient than the Catholics."

About here, the conversation ended.  We continued to eat Jesus.  I started to wonder if maybe this is how communion is supposed to be.  Everyone is invited to the table.  Everyone is invited to dine with Him.  Every time that we break bread, we do so in remembrance of him.  And Jesus wasn't the type to exclude anyone from his table.

And really, guys.  Can you think of a better way to share the Lord with your friends, than with honey?

Cause I swear I can't.

(Also, apparently Amazon sells Communion Wafers. Read the comments. They're hilarious.)

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