With Deep Longing

Scripture: Luke 22:7-20 14 When the time came, Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the table. 15 Jesus said, “I have looked forward to this hour with deep longing, anxious to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. 16 For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.” 17 Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. 18 For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come.” 19 He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.” (Luke 22:14-20 NLT) I’m feeling sad! But I’m also feeling thankful and hopeful! Sunday we shared online communion and Jesus’ words, “I have looked forward to this hour with deep longing, anxious to eat this Passover meal with you…” rang in my heart like a bell! Because we were sharing communion in front of a computer screen and I missed being with all the people I would normally be sharing the Lord’s Supper with. And I missed my kids and grand kids and sharing meals with them. And I missed having coffee and conversations with friends. And I miss “going to church” and seeing and interacting with my brothers and sisters. I miss all these interactions with people I love, and I suppose I miss the meals together and the table conversations most of all. So I’m feeling sad. But I’m feeling thankful for the innovative ways we’re quickly learning to stay in touch! I’m thankful for Facebook live streaming for our church services. I’m thankful for Zoom meetings with family. I’m glad for Zoom meetings with the church teams I serve. I’m thankful for emails and Facebook messages and text messages and for the flow of communication that’s available to us. There’s so much to be thankful for! I’m feeling hopeful as I see the church has flexibility, and we can adjust and adapt and learn new ways to do old things. I’m feeling hopeful because I know the current pandemic will pass, and lessons will be learned, and we’ll keep going with a little more wisdom and understanding of what really matters! But I do feel a little sad! Prayer: Father, I miss the things I’ve grown accustomed to and comfortable with. But I’m thankful for what we have and I’m hopeful for a new day soon, when we’ll get to do the things that are denied to us right now. Don’t let us miss the lessons to learn! Amen.