Grab a Big Handful of Grace

Last month we celebrated communion by intinction, fondly known also as “rip and dip” at my church.  As the pastor, I hold the bread, with elders holding chalices on both sides.  Congregation members come forward to “rip” a piece off the loaf and “dip” it in the juice before returning to their seats.  Most people take a small piece of bread from the loaf: little more than what they can pinch between two fingers.  Every now and then someone ends up with a bigger-than-expected piece because the bread rips in an unusual way.  When this happens, they usually look up at me with an embarrassed expression, as if to apologize for taking so much.

Not Jacob.  I can see the gleam of excitement in his eye even before he steps up with a smile to take a big handful of bread from the loaf.  His mother, grandmother, aunt, or whoever is with him may wince a bit and look at me to confirm that I understand the situation and won’t take offense.

Jacob is an adult member of our congregation who has Downs Syndrome.  His smile and cheerful greetings, and his eagerness to lend a hand at church events, display how God works through Jacob in wonderful ways.  And he teaches us by how he takes communion to enjoy God’s blessings more than we typically do.

God does not want us to be content with tiny morsels of grace in our lives.  He wants us to grab onto all that he offers with joyful gusto.  We do not need to worry that we’ll use up all the bread or that the cup will run dry.  Remember: he is the One who fed a crowd with five loaves and two fish.  If the Lord had felt the need to be careful with how much he gave, perhaps the 5,000 would have gotten only enough food to keep their stomachs from growling until they got home.  But not Jesus!  Not only did everyone have plenty to eat, but they ended up with twelve baskets of leftovers (Matthew 14:15-21)!

During our church’s mission trips each year, I joke that God is a terrible accountant, because it never makes sense how much money we have left over at the end.  One year our finance committee chair wondered if we had spent any money at all after we returned what we hadn’t spent.  This year’s trip will cost significantly more than trips in previous years, but it is already fully funded.  God has displayed his generosity once again.

We may worry at my church about the mortgage we still owe on our new building.  And we may be anxious about how to pay for the extensive roof repair work that we need.  But God is unconcerned.  As you’ll read in this newsletter, he has arranged through the generosity of an anonymous donor to have our entire parking lot paved!

Take a clue from Jacob.  When the Lord offers a blessing, do not be content with a tiny morsel, to make sure there’s enough to go around.  Grab a giant handful of what God offers, trusting in what one scholar has called Jesus’ “logic of superabundance.”