March 28, 2022 (Lent Week 4)

 


1 Corinthians 10:14-17, 31

14 Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf... 31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God

 

What has fleeing from idolatry have to do with the Eucharist? Well, this passage reminds us that when we eat the bread and drink the wine at the Holy Table, we become the body of Christ. We are being fed by his body and his blood and this makes us his body together in the world. A pretty amazing thought. 

And, in just the same way, when we put other things first in our lives, it is like we are being "fed" by them too, and being made like them. There are so many things that can become idols in our lives - money, security, how we look, career success - and when we put them before God, we are shaped by them and not by God. They become our daily bread. 

So, I encourage you, next time you go up for communion, to let it be a reminder to you that you should flee from these idols. You are to put nothing else before God because God wants to give you everything you need and he wants to make you into his body in the world. This is the gift of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God!


 - A member of the St. Augustine's family

 


 

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