Double Dipping by Robynn
Last Sunday morning at church we were short on servers for the Communion Service. It was Labour Day weekend. Everyone was out of town I guess…at least all of our servers. I volunteered to serve at the 9:30 Service and then again at the 11:00 Service to fill in the gaps.
In our church we first pass the bread. The bread is the Body of Christ, broken for us on the cross. Then we pass the juice. The juice symbolizes the Blood of Christ. After we pass the bread and juice trays we bring the trays back to the front. Our minister takes them, stacks them and returns them to the altar.
Communion is a precious sacrament. The Eucharist. The Body and Blood of Christ. The celebration of redemption. It’s the moment we admit we are weaker and in need of a Greater.
We call to mind the Presence of Christ. We remember His humanity; and his divinity. We remember His journey to the cross: the sacrifice, the agony, the humiliation. Jesus endured the cross….for the sake of our souls, our healing, our salvation. We remember his resurrection, the ultimate victory over death and darkness. We remember and we are humbled and grateful. We celebrate the Passion of Christ which, “was sufficient and superabundant satisfaction for human guilt and the consequent debt of punishment.” (CatholicCulture.org). It’s the sacrifice we need. It’s the sacrament we’re desperate for.
As our Pastor takes the trays from the servers, he in turn serves us.
This is the Body of Christ broken for you, Robynn.
This is the Blood of Christ shed for you.
Last Sunday I served at the 9:30 service. And then I served again at the 11:00 service. As the Pastor took the trays and paused to serve me, I took the bread again. Pastor Brian made eye contact with me and you could see he was surprised to see me back for more. For just a moment he was taken aback! And I nearly got the giggles.
I was caught red handed double dipping at Holy Communion! I had gone back for seconds.
It brought me so much joy to have it twice. Like somehow, the Father had torn off another piece and snuck it to me on the side. Another piece of mercy. Another piece of satisfaction. Another piece of forgiveness. It felt like the Father smiled on me and let me be first in line for seconds, or, even better, for dessert!
These days I need as much grace as I can get. The kids are back in school. My work responsibilities are amped up again. Children still need shuttling. Their activities keep me active! I feel the weight of expectations and responsibilities from church and community, from family and home.
My own soul experiences angst and mid-life moments of resistance. It seems like I need twice as much redemption now than ever before. I need to know doubly that God likes me, that He’s for me, that He’s with me. I need to know again and again that forgiveness is sure, that there is a newness to each day, that He’s not disappointed in me.
I remember the first time I realized that double dipping was frowned on here in this culture. I think I was in college at the time, newly returned from my childhood home in far off Asia. A group of us were sitting around eating chips and dip. Food was an easy meeting place. I understood food even if, in those days, I didn’t always understand those around me eating. We were enjoying some down time with some chips. We were laughing and telling stories. Suddenly someone in the circle realized I was double dipping—I was dipping my chip in the dip, biting off the yummy thick creamy dip, and then re-dipping my chip into the dip!
I will never forget the sudden shame.
My joy and ease were instantly erased and I was suddenly guilty of some cultural crime that I had never before encountered. (I was used to hanging out with friends over a common Kardai. We would each rip off chunks of fresh, hot, tandoori roti and dip it into the spicy, tangy gravy—and then go in again for more!) It had never occurred to me that double dipping was disgusting.
On Sunday morning I discovered a douple-dipping pleasure that is acceptable across cultures and communities; across boundaries and borders. If you’re double dipping —dip into this, again and again: that God loves you; that He longs for you; that His mercy is new and full and sufficient every single day. There’s plenty of it.
Rip off a generous piece of the Bread and dip into grace. Consume it. Take it in. Let it become a part of you. Dip it in again and again and again. Your double dipping delights the Father, pleases the Son and gives permission to the Spirit to deeply dabble in the depths of your soul.
“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” (Hebrews 4:16
All who are thirsty
All who are weak
Just come to the fountain
Dip your heart in the stream of life
Let the pain and the sorrow
Be washed away
In the waves of His mercy
As deep cries out to deep
We sing, come Lord Jesus come
Come Lord Jesus, come
Come Lord Jesus, come
Read more: Kutless – All Who Are Thirsty Lyrics | MetroLyrics
