we drink blood...

"Compassion is your pain in my heart"
- Augustine

As the dust settles in Burma as far as the recent protests are concerned...we must not forget that the suffering still continues among the ethnic people of Burma. These little guys above are refugees from Burma. We have to keep present in our minds that they are a link to the tragedy back in their home land. They are part of our eucharist when we gather...a reminder of death and life. Pray for them, for Burma and for us as we continually figure out how to love the nations right in front of us and far away. Pray that we would be able to rejoice with those who are joyful and suffer with those who are suffering in a way that is redemptive and meaningful.

When we eat of the bread and drink of the cup of Christ...it is His body we share in.
The sharedness of the eucharist is a mystery...that many become one.
Together we are united in a way that is holy and deeply spiritual.
That bloody altar is a prophetic picture of not only the past death of Christ but also of His brokeness that is here.
We forget that we drink blood...we gather around a symbol of oppression, injustice, brutality and suffering.
Our communion is with more than the past...it's also about the suffering of Jesus in the present.