Monday, August 09, 2021

The LORD'S Supper Every Time You Eat Or Drink

I hope to show you in this post how the biblical LORD'S SUPPER is simply followers of Jesus individually and intentionally  "Remembering Jesus" every time we eat or drink. 

In most churches, what is called either "communion" or "the LORD'S Supper," is a sacred ceremony of ritualism. A "sacred wafer" and "cup of wine" are shared by men who typically wear Hawaiian shirts and jeans on Sunday (deacons), but dress in jackets and slacks when they serve communion. 

On communion Sundays, evangelical pastors will give solemn warnings about harboring sin before "being served" the Lord's Supper, appealing for Christians to come to "the altar" to confess their sins before they eat and drink, lest they do so "unworthily" and receive the just punishment for their sins (death).

Many of us have been members of churches where if the youth group ever attempted to have "The Lord's Supper" without ordained men serving the elements (God forbid!), there would be a holy war. And, if anything other than a flat, unleavened wafer and a small cup of something other than Welch's grape juice was to be served ("Hold on Martha, here comes the big one!"), the entire church would be in an uproar.

The formalism and traditionalism surrounding the Lord's Supper come from the mistaken notion that Jesus ate the Seder or "Passover Meal" with his disciples the night before He was crucified. The Hebrew Passover meal of the Old Covenant had specific requirements, including the use of "unleavened bread." For this reason, some evangelicals are offended if anything other than "unleavened wafers" is used in the Lord's Supper. They hold to a mystical, ritualistic view of the Lord's Supper. They ordain "authorized" men with "spiritual authority" to guard the Eucharist against corruption, and they caution commoners to ne'er "eat nor drink unworthily" lest they be damned. 

In the Baptist circles in which I grew up, the altar call before the Lord's Supper was the time people really thought about their sins. Usually, it was once a quarter (every three months). In very circumspect congregations, a weekly review of one's sins occurred, for the Lord's Supper was solemnly served every Sunday.

However, the meal Jesus shared with His disciples the night before He died at Calvary was NOT the Passover Meal (e.g., the "Seder") but was actually a normal meal of everyday bread and wine that the disciples ate and drank daily.

If I'm correct, then the injunction that Jesus gives His followers - "every time you eat or drink, remember Me" - means simply what He says. Remember Jesus every time you eat or drink.

If you argue with your spouse on Monday morning and you happen to go get a drink of water at the office water fountain later that same morning, pause and "remember Jesus." Or if you go to the cafeteria to eat something for lunch, don't take a bite until you pause and "remember Jesus." 

In other words, don't let any drink pass your lips or any food enter your mouth without REMEMBERING JESUS and what He did for you. Eating and drinking become the actions that trigger the remembrance of Christ. 

We are to use the act of consuming our daily food and drink to prod us to "focus on Christ," to remember His authority in our lives, and to recall everything HE teaches us about how we are to live. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by EVERY WORD that proceeds out of the mouth of God."

If you think of Jesus and what He teaches you before you eat or drink something, He'll bring to your mind those harsh words you said to your spouse earlier in the morning, and remind you of HIs Royal Law which is "to love one another as I have loved you!". You'll then go and make it right with the person you've not loved like Jesus before you eat or drink. 

If I'm right, the Lord's Supper doesn't mean you examine yourself and "remember Jesus" quarterly - or even weekly - but every time you put food or drink to your lips.

Jesus and His Disciples Ate Real Bread (Leavened Bread) and Drank Regular Wine at the Last Supper

The meal that we call "The Lord's Supper" occurred on WEDNESDAY NIGHT during the week Jesus died. This last supper on Wednesday night with His disciples was not "The Passover (Seder) Meal,", which would have occurred the FOLLOWING NIGHT after "Passover Preparation Day" (Thursday, Nisan 14). Passover could only be eaten AFTER the lambs were killed and roasted and the unleavened bread had been baked during Preparation Day (the day Jesus died). You can't have a Passover meal prior to the Passover lamb being killed.

Jesus died on THURSDAY AFTERNOON (Nisan 14), the day after He ate a normal, regular dinner with His disciples in the room they reserved to "prepare for the Passover."

THURSDAY, Nisan 14 is Preparation Day, the day the Lamb of God died.  Preparation Day, on the Jewish calendar, begins the eight days of the festival called Passover. It is called "Preparation Day" or "Passover Day" because, at 3:00 pm on that day (Nisan 14), the Jews would "slay the lambs" that they would eat THAT NIGHT as their Passover meal. After the lambs were slain, the Jews roasted the lambs and served the roasted lamb with bitter herbs and UNLEAVENED BREAD for the "Passover Meal (Seder)," which - again - ALWAYS occurred AFTER the lambs had been killed earlier in the day (Nisan 14).

It was on this day, Preparation Day, that Jesus died (Nisan 14) at 3:00 pm. The Jewish women would have been in their homes "sweeping out the leaven," as well as cooking some "unleavened bread," PREPARING for the PASSOVER MEAL that they would eat that night (Thursday). The Passover would be eaten after sunset of the day that "the Passover lambs" had been slain. 

IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER that a new day for the JEWS begins at 6:00 pm in the evening. In Western countries, the "new day" begins at midnight, but in Jewish culture, the "new day" begins at sunset (6:00 pm). 

Therefore, the Jewish Passover Meal during the week Jesus died would have been eaten by the Jews on THE SECOND DAY of  Passover Week (NISAN 15), which would have been THURSDAY night in our western mind, but the beginning of a NEW DAY in the Jewish mind (Nisan 15). 

This Passover Day, Nisan 15, was always a high and holy day (e.g., a High Sabbath) on the Jewish calendar. On this day (Nisan 15), the Jews observed "The Feast of UNLEAVENED BREAD." It was at THIS MEAL that unleavened bread was first consumed during Passover Week.

Jesus couldn't have eaten this meal (the Passover) with His disciples. because He had died for our sins on Preparation Day (Nisan 14). By nightfall (the beginning of Nisan 15), Jesus was already in the tomb "sweeping away our sins" as the Jews ate their Jewish Passover meal.

So Jesus ate a regular meal of leavened bread and wine - daily staples for His disciples - on Wednesday night, hours before He died on Thursday afternoon, Nisan 14, at 3:00 pm.

The Days of Passover

According to Exodus 12:1, the Passover lamb was chosen on the 10th day of Aviv (Nisan). The Hebrew month of Aviv was later given the name Babylonian name Nisan (during the Babylonian Jewish captivity (586 B.C. - 516 B.C.) Both the words "Aviv" and "Nisan" mean "Spring," but Aviv is a Hebrew word and Nisan is a Syriac or Assyrian word that the Jews later adopted as their own. 

After the Passover lamb had been chosen on the Nisan 10, the people would inspect the lamb to make sure there were no spots or blemishes. The lamb could not have any broken bones or be defective in any way. Four days after the lamb was chosen, the lamb was slain. Don't forget, Jesus entered Jerusalem on Sunday, Nisan 10, during what we call "Palm Sunday" and for "four days" He was examined, and the Roman governor Pontius Pilate eventually declared to the people, "I find no fault in Him!" (Luke 23:4). Likewise, the Jewish people during crucifixion week would have chosen their "lambs" on Sunday, Nisan 10, examined them to ensure there were "no blemishes" for four days, and then sacrifice their lambs on Thursday afternoon, Nisan 14, the same day Jesus died. Jesus died Thursday afternoon of Nisan 14 at 3:00 pm.

The lambs were then all killed on Thursday, Nisan 14, because Nisan 14 was "Preparation Day" for the Passover meal that would occur after sunset. Thus, the Bible calls Nisan 14 the week when Jesus died "the day of Preparation for Passover" (see John 19:14). As already stated, the Jewish women would use this Day of Preparation (Nisan 14) to sweep away any leaven in their houses in preparation for The Feast of Unleavened Bread.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread would then begin after the sunset of Thursday, Nisan 14, around 6:00 pm, which in the Jewish mind would be "the next day," Nisan 15. The actual Passover Festival (also called "The Days of Unleavened Bread) would last seven days, beginning with the Passover meal, but if you count Preparation Day (Nisan 14), the entire Passover Festival is eight days long.

But again, to repeat for emphasis, only at the Passover Meal (Nisan 15) is unleavened bread begun to be eaten during Passover.  Every other day of the year, including Nisan 14 (Preparation Day), regular, leavened bread was eaten by the Jews.  That's why Jesus would have eaten normal, daily bread and consumed the normal, regular drink with his disciples during Wednesday night's "Lord's Supper" or "Last Supper," just hours before He died on the afternoon of Jewish Preparation Day (Nisan 14).

Leaven in Scripture is a picture of sin or evil. After the Passover lamb died the leaven was gone. All sin and evil disappeared in the Jewish homes (symbolically) as they brought the Paschal lamb into their homes and celebrated Jewish redemption from Egyptian bondage during the days of Moses.

Jesus couldn't have eaten the Passover Meal (Seder) with His disciples because He had already died and was in the tomb (sweeping away our sins).

You must get this fixed in your mind: The Passover meal that the Jews ate during the week of Jesus' crucifixion would have been eaten on Thursday evening as we westerners reckon it, for it was after sunset of Nisan 14, the day that Jesus died. However, the Jews considered that evening of Passover, when the Paschal lamb and bread were eaten (6:00 pm to 10:00 pm) the beginning of the NEXT DAY, Nisan 15, a "high and holy Festival day."

Pay attention: Friday, Nisan 15, during the week Jesus died, was an extremely important holy day on the Jewish Calendar. The Jews observed on that day (Nisan 15) "The Feast of Unleavened Bread" (e.g. "The Passover " or Seder) - and NO CRIMINAL could hang on the cross on this day by Jewish law.

The Feast Day of Unleavened Bread (Nisan 15) was considered a High Sabbath for the Jews. 


The High Sabbath of Unleavened Bread (Nisan 15)  was not the regular Jewish Sabbath (Saturday) for the Jews but a special annual High Sabbath, similar to how Americans celebrate Independence Day.

In America,  Independence Day (July 4) can fall on a Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc... depending on the year. So too, in the Jewish Calendar, the Festival of Unleavened Bread on Nisan 15 can fall on any day of the week. HOWEVER, in the year Jesus died (A.D. 30), Nisan 15 fell on a FRIDAY. That means that Friday, Nisan 15, was a High Sabbath, and Saturday, Nisan 16, was a regular Sabbath.

This would mean that the resurrection of Christ occurred on Sunday, Nisan 17, AFTER TWO SABBATHS, back to back (Friday - the High Sabbath - and Saturday - the regular Sabbath). 

This is precisely what the New Testament teaches. The gospel writer Matthew describes the time when the disciples came to the empty tomb of Christ on Sunday morning by writing, “After the Sabbath(s), at dawn on the first day of the week...” (Matthew 28:1a). The Greek word translated Sabbath in Mark 28:1 is “Shabbaton” (plural), not “Shabbat” (singular). Any English translation that does not use "Sabbaths" has mistranslated the Greek text. Jesus' crucifixion week had the High Sabbath on Friday plus the weekly, regular Sabbath on Saturday. He rose "after the Sabbaths."

The Romans went to "break Jesus' legs" Thursday afternoon, Nisan 14, while Jesus hung on the cross "to speed up His death" in order to have Him removed from the cross before "The Sabbath began" - NOT the normal, weekly Saturday Jewish Sabbath, but the special HIGH SABBATH of Unleavened Bread (Nisan 15) which just so happened to fall on FRIDAY of crucifixion week, the day before the regular Sabbath. Of course, when they came to Jesus with clubs to break His legs to speed up His death, they discovered He was already dead, fulfilling the Law that the Passover lamb must have no broken bones and the Messianic psalms that "Not one of His bones will be broken" (Psalm 34:20).


In Summary:

Jesus entered Jerusalem as "The Chosen Lamb" on Sunday, Nisan 10.
Jesus died on the day of Passover Preparation Day, Thursday, Nisan 14.
The next day, Friday, Nisan 15, was the First Day of Unleavened Bread and a special High Sabbath for the Jews, when no leaven could be in the homes. Jesus was in the tomb this day.
The following day, Saturday, Nisan 16 was the normal, weekly Sabbath for the Jews, and Jesus remained in the tomb.

On Sunday, Nisan 17, Jesus rose from the dead.

This day of Resurrection (Sunday, Nisan 17) was another important holy day to the Jews during Passover. "The day after the regular Sabbath" (during Passover week) was always observed with "The Waving of the Sheaves of First Fruits" (Leviticus 23:15)The Jewish farmers would enter the Temple courtyard "on the morrow after the regular Sabbath" (e.g. Sunday morning) during Passover Week, and wave a handful of grain to the Lord and pray, "as you have blessed the first fruits of this harvest, please bless the rest of the harvest." This is the morning (Sunday, Nisan 17) that Jesus rose from the grave.

Jesus is "the first fruits of the resurrection," and it is a guarantee that you and all others in Christ will be blessed with resurrection (e.g. "the full harvest of resurrection"), as Christ our First Fruits was raised from the grave.  Paul teaches us about the resurrection in I Corinthians 15. He uses the language of "first fruits" when speaking of Christ's resurrection and "full harvest" when writing of the general resurrection. Paul knew the day Jesus rose from the grave was the Jewish festival of "Waving the Sheaves of First Fruits."

So since Jesus died at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, Nisan 14, at the very time the national Passover lamb was being sacrificed in the temple and individual families were sacrificing their family lambs, Jesus would spend 3 days and 3 nights in the tomb prior to His resurrection, just as He said He would! Jesus was placed in the tomb on Thursday (Nisan 14) before sunset, remained in the tomb all night/day Friday (Nisan 15)  all night/day Saturday (Nisan 16), and through the night (6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. of Sunday, (Nisan 17). Three days and three nights. If He died on Friday, as most wrongly say, you might be able to get "three days" (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday - even though He arose before daylight on Sunday), but there is NO WAY you can get "three nights." No way. I believe Jesus when He said He would spend three days AND three nights in the tomb.

Jesus rose from the grave sometime between the sunset following Saturday (Aviv 16) and sunrise of the first day of the week (Mark 16:9), which was Sunday (Nisan 17) for the Scripture says it was still night when Jesus rose. The time Jesus spent in the grave fulfills the prophecy Jesus said about His own death and resurrection: 
"For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:40).
Therefore, the Meal Jesus Ate with His Disciples on Wednesday Night Was a Regular Meal, Not Passover.

What are the implications? 

It means that in the New Covenant, the Lord's Supper is nothing more, nothing less than remembering the Lord Jesus Christ every time you eat or drink.

This is consistent with the teaching of the New Testament.

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (I Corinthians 10:31).

How can you get drunk if every time you drink, you think of Christ? How can you sleep with your stepmother (as was the sin of a Corinthian Christian in I Corinthians) if every time you eat, you think of Christ? How can you speak poorly to your spouse in the morning and not make it right by lunch if you "think of Christ every time you eat or drink." How can you continue in idolatry if you take every opportunity to eat and drinking to think of Jesus Christ? Your LIFE is in HIM!

Jesus is "your Bread of Life."

Jesus is "your Water of Life." 

Jesus is your LIFE.

As often as you eat or drink, remember Jesus Christ.

This is the practice of New Covenant Christianity. It is living every moment of your life for Jesus Christ. 

Not waiting for a quarterly ritual called the Lord's Supper.

32 comments:

  1. Interesting.

    One church we belonged to would have the normal "Communion Service" only following a Friday night "Communion Preparation Service". There are admonitions to set things right with others, and you cannot do that during the normal service time.

    And I do agree with what you say.

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  2. Hello Bob Cleveland,

    it is so true what you said, this:
    "There are admonitions to set things right with others, and you cannot do that during the normal service time."

    so there is an ancient prayer that is said because of this: "Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst come under my roof, but only say the Word, and my soul shall be healed."




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  3. Eastern Christianity has a beautiful way of speaking about an inward and spiritual 'partaking' of Christ, this:

    " Christ....can be actively received ...inwardly and spiritually in mind and heart every moment;
    strive to partake of Christ Our Lord inwardly and spiritually without ceasing."


    (Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain, revised by Theophan the Recluse)

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  4. We've seen your posts proposing the death of Christ on Thursday a few time previously. It's one of those things that I acknowledge as being possible while at the same time agreeing to follow the more traditional, conventional, if you please, teaching of His dying on Friday. I like aspects of both.

    I appreciate the information and teaching you give on the traditions and Biblical insights on that and in regards to Communion. I see the value of not over-playing some aspects of having Communion that many have adapted, like assessing your hearts prior to participating. I also see the over-kill, if you please, of possibly elevating the Communion service above what it was meant to be.

    However, I also see the value of using the event as a means to reflect upon the sacrifice made on the cross and the essential value present in repeatedly performing a memorial service that emphasizes the meaning of the cross, that sacrifice, and our need to commit to devoting our lives in service to that Master.

    It's all good if not distorted in some way that diminishes the meaning of the basic truths involved.

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  5. Bread and wine may have been an ancient near eastern version of biscuits and gravy.

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  6. sometimes in trying to analyze what is 'mystery', we may lose track of its essence

    "I don’t care how many angels can
    dance on the head of a pin. It’s
    enough to know that for some people
    they exist, and that they dance."
    (Mary Oliver)

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  7. Wade - beautiful post. I'll read it again, but having a hard time with:

    Matt 26:17-19

    17 Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?” 18 He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” 19 And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover.

    thanks
    Paul

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  8. Wade, I agree that it would be a wonderful practice to remember Jesus every time we eat and drink, and we would do well to incorporate such reflection whenever we prayerfully thank God for our meal. I have no problem with trying to fit the gospel accounts so as to accommodate Jesus being in the tomb a literal three days and three nights. I do have a problem with claiming that Jesus' last meal with His disciples was normal meal rather than a Passover Seder. Such a position puts you in hopeless conflict with all three Synoptics. According to Matthew 26:17, the disciples asked Jesus, "Where will you have us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?" Matthew says that asked that on the first day of Unleavened Bread. Jesus gave them instructions as to what to do. Matthew concludes, "And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover" (v. 19). Mark repeats this same conversation (Mark 14:12, 16) as does Luke (22:7-13). Luke adds that it was the day on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. He also specifically tells us that Jesus instructed His disciples, "Go and prepare the Passover for us." Then, in v. 14 or Luke's account, Jesus said, "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover."

    I know you believe in the historicity and reliability of the Bible. Let's not throw out what they clearly say to support something we want to say, no matter how good it may be.

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  9. There are many ways of looking at what is written in the sacred Scriptures. Here is one interesting perspective that may bring some Christian people together who thought they were in disagreement with one another:

    https://tomperna.org/2016/03/25/was-jesus-last-supper-actually-a-passover-meal-or-was-it-something-completely-new/

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  10. Shout out to REX RAY,

    hope your appointment with that ankle specialist on Wednesday went well

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  11. Unknown,

    I have no disagreement with the synoptic gospels. It takes "four days" to prepare for the Passover, and Jesus sent the disciples to "The Upper Room" to "prepare for the Passover" - just like the synoptic gospels state.

    Preparing for the Passover is not the same thing as partaking in the Passover.

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    Replies
    1. 👍Exactly. Glad the Scriptures themselves are a plethora of interpretive study.

      Delete
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  14. The 'Thanksgiving' (Eucharist)

    "Then the two told what had happened on the road,
    and how they had recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread." (St.Luke 24:35)

    I see His Presence being with ALL those who love Him and 'remember Him', even if they are not aware of Him in 'the breaking of the bread' when they 'keep the feast',
    because even those of us who do believe He is Present, we live with this mystery that is beyond our human ability to comprehend fully.

    I believe that in any denomination, the proper response to 'the Lord's Supper' is to be 'thankful'.

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  16. The 'thanksgiving' (Eucharist)


    "Let us set aside the cares of this world
    That we may receive the King of all,
    Who comes, invisibly escorted by the Divine Hosts. Alleluia."

    https://youtu.be/OPlK5HwFxcw

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  17. I apologize for breaking from the intended topic of this post but this is important and I know many on this forum would be interested.

    Perhaps you are already aware of this seemingly amazing source for adequate medical information AND more importantly, options to pursue in the event you become COVID infected and your doctor, like mine, refuse to perform any meaningful treatment prior to your condition deteriorating to the point of having to go to ICU.

    The link for "America's Frontline Doctors" is
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    Honestly, I hesitate to be so open with this information due to possible putting them in jeopardy of coming under attack or being taken off the media circuit. Things have just gotten that bad in terms of the genuine conspiracy to force people to submit to the control of the government/medical/social power players taking over the rights of individuals.

    Forgive me if some of our fine medical-background visitors to this sight have already given this source. I did not see it if they did and have only discovered this very useful source today from a good friend.

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  18. CHRISTIANE,

    I cancelled that appointment with the ankle specialist, because 3 days earlier, I went to get pain pills from a hospital. That was 8-9-21.

    After seeing my ankle, they treated me for cellulitis by medicine dripping into a vein, and pain pills ever so often. I was in a bed that sounded an alarm if I got out of it.

    Showing pictures of me a few days before did little good. I was standing on a horizontal ladder 40 feet high replacing the slide motor. (Motor pulls the sled up.)

    I got released this afternoon with Judy telling when I can have a pain pill. I feel like she has become Aunt Bee on the Andy Griffin show, when she was in charge of the town drunk. :)

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  19. REX RAY,

    Cellulitis . . . hard to cure that stuff, so be patient. Not good news, this.

    Thank the Good Lord you have Judy to help supervise your meds. Otherwise, I can only imagine what sort of trouble you might get into with pain pills.

    And stay off that slide for a while, at least until you get over the cellulitis infection this time. When do you see the doctor again?

    Thanks for the update.

    Do you know what the meds were that they gave you at the hospital through the IV drip? I doubt they would have released you unless there was some improvement and they had scheduled you for some kind of follow-up. (?)

    Listen to Judy and your doctors. No more slide; for a while.



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  20. Rex Ray, "cellulitis" from an injury incurred on the slide? That sounds bogus to me.
    Kind of like the car mechanic saying that the engine is running hot because the left shock absorber is broken.

    Took my pickup into the air conditioner place in Thailand because my A/C had just stopped cooling. They took it back in the shop where I couldn't see what they were doing. An hour later this young man came out holding the A/C condenser-radiator-looking thing with a perfect hole right in the center the size of a large phillips-head screw driver and said (in Thai, of course), "You have a leak in your condenser. It must be replaced with a new one."

    Sorry, I'm sure your doctor is much better. "Cellulitis" if you please.

    Thank goodness for Nurse Judy.

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  21. For REX RAY, LOL, I bet Judy will do a great job taking care of you!

    https://mayberry.fandom.com/wiki/Aunt_Bee_the_Warden?file=S2E23_-_Aunt_Bee_Declares_She%2527s_the_Warden.png

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  22. REX RAY, here's more encouragement, LOL

    https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/mayberry/images/3/38/S2E23_-_Get_Back_to_Work.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20200607013434

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  23. Wade, back to the discussion on "Communion", I hope that you continue to have a special service associated with your church's Communion observance so as to elevate that event in recognition of its intended purpose as being a memorial service for the sacrifice of The Lamb of God made on the cross. His instructions should make it obvious that there was nothing routine about this observance.

    I would be disappointed if folks began teaching that "Communion" is only meant to be a casual part of every meal, like asking the blessing and thanking God for the food and His gracious provision for all that we have. It the "Communion" event was lowered to that level of observance it would diminish what I believe Scripture portrays as its true intent and purpose.

    Jesus went to great lengths to teach that it is to be a very significant exhibit of the devotion, gratitude, and understanding of what took place on the cross and who we have as our Redeemer.

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  24. CHRISTIANE,

    Thanks for the picture! I’ve sent it to several. I’m amazed how you did it!
    RB,

    “Communion observance so as to elevate that event in recognition of its intended purpose as being a memorial service…”

    For me, there was one service that was very short of its purpose as I became a Zombie. After I told the deacons, everything was covered by a table cloth.

    I was one of the deacons singing while waiting to start the service. Somehow a gob of phlegm projected from my mouth and landed in the crackers.

    I thought people would scream, but no one noticed. I was given the contaminated crackers. I should have spilled them, but Zombies can’t think.

    I never heard any complaint about the crackers.

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  25. Rex Ray, my brain would have been much better without that image which has now been imprinted in it.

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  26. RB,

    Can you get this picture? Deacons pasted the crackers without a hitch, but the lid wouldn’t come off the punch bowl until there were two deacons pulling down and two pulling up.

    I heard more than one lady giggling.

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  27. Hello Mr. Kuter,

    yes, part of the magic of REX RAY's gift of story-telling is that when he writes, the reader actually can 'see' and 'hear' what he's writing about because the writing is so vivid. That's a natural, gifted writer! He writes in his own 'voice'.

    Sometimes, as in the communion wafers incident, maybe just a 'little' too graphic. :) But no harm done. LOL

    But I'll bet the style of his writing outshines a lot of what is formally published in the big publishing houses of our day anytime. I think his stories are both very funny and also, at times, very moving, and I am most grateful for having had the privilege of reading Rex Ray's stories (on the whole) :)

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  28. CHRISTIANE,

    Have I told you about a mission trip to Kyrgyzstan (a Communist country) many years ago? It’s located between China and Afghanistan. The last flight of the trip was by a small airplane. I complained my seatbelt was held together by wire, and someone said they didn’t have a seatbelt.

    Christians were hated, so they called themselves Believers. They had freedom on paper, but not in practice. Three weeks before we got there, the building they met in was surrounded, and every person there including children were beaten with sticks.

    We were to build a small building where Missionaries could show movies, but the approval hadn’t been granted, so we decide to build book shelves for a college there.

    It was like going back a hundred years in time. There wasn’t a lumberyard; more like ‘trades-day’. Our lumber was delivered on a wagon pulled by horses as there wasn’t any vehicles.

    The missionary’s son told his father, “Rex is teaching me how to play ping-pong”. His father replied, “REX CAN’T TEACH YOU ANYTHING!” (He was referring to their dog.)

    A young man there was our interpreter. He was impressed that I’d never drank a beer. Said they were not supposed to but most did. (He was the only one to accept Jesus.)

    We used their ping-pong table as a work table. Too much weight broke it in pieces. Our leader only said “Sorry”, but on the last day I repaired it.

    As we were getting on the plane to leave, I heard a young voice, “Thanks for fixing the ping-pong table!”

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  29. REX RAY,

    there has to be a special place in heaven for missionaries who go into difficult lands to share the Good News,
    and it sounds like Kyrgyzstan was extremely difficult.

    Good to have fixed that table before you left. 'Good will' is shown in the simple things that people do for those in need.

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