I cried during Communion this Lord’s Day. No, the devotion was not particularly moving, nor was the music. The reason I cried is complicated. I’ve recently come to be (once again) painfully aware of my own spiritual shortcomings. Before Communion I considered not taking it because of these shortcomings. Then I remembered that the Lord’s Table is a means of grace and that I was in need of a lot of grace.

In 1Co 11:26 Paul says “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” Every time we celebrate the Lord’s Table, we proclaim His death and his resurrection and His return. This isn’t subjective, it is totally objective. Whether I’m moved or not, here is a tangible presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ and in it I receive grace.

So this Sunday as I ate the bread and drank the cup I prayed for that grace. During the devotion my mind wandered and in the wandering God answered. Where I lacked vision, vision developed. Where I lacked planning, a plan materialized. And I cried briefly and quietly. God’s grace came to me when I didn’t expect it and it came to me (in this case) through the means he’s ordained: bread and wine.