I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. – John 6:53-54

In the early days of Christianity the Christians were thought to be cannibals. They taught the concept of eating the flesh of Jesus and drinking his blood so vividly that people on the outside thought they were actually eating flesh and drinking blood.

In fact, the Catholic doctrine of Transubstantiation stems from that era. The doctrine of Transubstantiation teaches that when one receives the wafer and wine from the priest that those symbolic elements actually become the flesh and blood of Christ. That contributed to the belief by some that the Christians performed cannibalistic rites.

Most of us celebrate the Lord’s Supper, or Communion, as symbolic of the breaking of his body and the shedding of his blood for all who will come to him in faith and trust him.

We do not partake of the elements of the Communion to literally partake of the body and blood of Christ, but we do it in remembrance of the price he paid so that we could have our sins forgiven and the doors of heaven opened to us.

When we partake of the Communion we are confessing to ourselves, to God and to the world that the life we now live is not our own. It is celebrating the fact that our old life is dead and our life now is hid in Christ: "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory" (Colossians 3:3-4).

The life of Christ in us is the reality of eating his flesh and drinking his blood. As this verse says, Christ is our life. That is why we are to no longer think as the natural man thinks and act as the natural man acts. The old man has died and the new, Christ-man is alive.

Prayer:  Lord, I have surrendered my life to you, but I still struggle with being human. Grant me the grace of Christ living through me and help me to  be a good representative of Christ. Amen.

Principle: Christ is our life. That is why we are to no longer think as the natural man thinks and act as the natural man acts. The old man has died and the new, Christ-man is alive.

Affirmation:  When I receive the Communion I am celebrating the Christ that is now my life.

Reflection: Give some thought to what it means to partake of the broken body and the blood of the covenant. Even if we do not teach transubstantiation we do believe in the power of the symbolic gesture in eating the bread and drinking the juice.

During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” – Matthew 14:25-27

You can almost see the look on the faces of the disciples as they saw the figure of a man walking toward them on the water. With the wind and the waves he probably seemed to hover over the water like one might imagine a ghost would do. It was enough to create a good deal of fear in them.

Most of us have been in a situation where what we saw was not in fact what was there to be seen and our imagination conjured up all kinds of things. Unfamiliar dark rooms are good for giving us some fearful imaginations.

On this night the wind was blowing, perhaps it was also cloudy, and the spray breaking off the wind driven waves made for bad visibility to start with, then they saw this image coming toward them. Was it just their imagination? Was it a ghost?

Then Jesus speaks, “Take courage! It is I.” How often in times of peril have we heard Jesus speak to our inner person, “Don’t be afraid, I am with you. It’s going to be alright.”

I was in a place like that some time ago. The doctor was doing an investigative procedure on my heart because he was convinced that I needed some serious work done. The earlier doctor’s report was causing me to have a few fearful days, but through it all I knew that Jesus was with me and it was going to be alright.

After the procedure the Doctor’s report changed dramatically. He wouldn’t have to take the more drastic measures he originally thought and my condition was much improved.

In my storm Jesus came walking on the water and said, “Take courage – it is I; don’t be afraid.”

Are you struggling? Listen; he is saying, "Do not be afraid, it is I"

Prayer:  Lord, sometimes I see things that scare me and I need grace to trust you in those scary situations. In Jesus name, amen.

Principle: During troublesome, when we are seeing things as man sees them and not as God sees, and fear is gripping our hearts, the Lord speaks peace to us saying, "Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid."

Affirmation: I have been through many storms and in each one I sense the presence of the Lord going with me. I will continue to trust him even in the roughest storm because I know he is there.
 
Reflection: How do you handle the storm? Do you draw back in fear? Make a desperate plea for help? Or do you continue on your journey with the confidence that the Lord is there watching and caring for you?

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Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, he went up on a mountain to pray.          – Mark 6:45-46

Earlier, when the disciples returned from their mission trip fired up with enthusiasm Jesus told them they needed to get away to rest. He was guarding their emotional well being as well as calling them to solitude and prayer.

They weren’t able to rest because when they arrived at the place of rest the people who saw where they were going ran fast and beat them there. Moved with compassion they ministered among the people with Jesus until it was late in the day. Then the miracle of the loaves and fishes was performed and all were fed.

After the feeding Jesus immediately sent the disciples away on a boat. He knew they needed rest so he sent them away while he dismissed the crowd. Jesus knew they needed the rest and he needed to get away for his “spiritual” rest also.

There are several times recorded in the gospels when Jesus got away to pray. It was usually on a mountain and he usually prayed in solitude. Have you ever wondered why Jesus needed to pray? If in fact he was God, then why would he need to pray? Yes, he was God, but he was God robed in flesh. As a human he had all of the emotional and spiritual needs that humans have. As a human he needed to pray.

The message Jesus seems to be conveying in this episode is that as humans we need times of rest and that is why he sent the disciples away in a boat. He is also saying that as citizens of the kingdom and servants of the king we need spiritual refreshing to guard against emotional and spiritual weariness. We need physical rest and we need spiritual refreshing. We need to pray.

If you do not have a time and a place to shut yourself away for spiritual refreshing I challenge you to do so. You will find the world much less troublesome and the walk of faith much easier when you pray.

Prayer:  Lord, grant me the wisdom to know when I need to rest and help me to establish a regular pattern prayer. In Jesus name, amen.

Principle: As citizens of the kingdom and servants of the king we need spiritual refreshing to guard against emotional and spiritual weariness. We need physical rest and we need spiritual refreshing. We need to pray.

Affirmation: I am committed to guarding myself against spiritual weariness by making time for periods of solitude, prayer and reflection upon the word of God and the teachings of Jesus.

Reflection: In another place Jesus made the point that God did not make the Sabbath for himself but for man. God knows we need times of sabbath (rest). Have you established times of rest and refreshing in your life?


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