“The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” (1 Cor 10:16). I recently checked up on an Iranian parishioner whom I had not seen in church for a while. I asked him if he was alright. He replied: “I am not doing well. My spirit is sick or dead.” That was alarming. “How soon can we meet?” I asked. A few days later, over tea and hot chocolate, he shared: “I feel like a zombie. My body is moving, but I think my soul has died.” “Hmm,” I asked, “when was the last time you took Holy Communion?” “I can’t remember,” he answered, his head drooping. “Do you still read your Bible every day?” “No, I haven’t for a long time. When I stopped going to church, I always hoped someone would check up on me. But no one ever did.” “I am so sorry to hear that,” I offered. “That should not have happened. Please forgive us… But apart from the mistakes that we as a congregation have made, do you know what happens to the Holy Spirit in you when you ignore His gifts of Word and Holy Communion?” “I’m not sure…” “Think of a hot air balloon… On its own, it wants to stay on the ground. That’s like us before our Baptism—not able to reach up to God. To fly, the balloon needs an outside force—the burner and flame. For us, that outside force is the Holy Spirit whom we receive in Baptism. But we need to keep that flame going by reading our Bible and taking Holy Communion regularly. Ignore those and your spiritual balloon will sink. Do you want the Holy Spirit in you to grow again?” He grinned. “You’re right. I need to start reading my Bible again and go back to church.” Praise God, last Sunday he was back in the Divine Service. *** Let us continue to check up on and pray for our loved ones who may have drifted away from the church. Let’s encourage them to turn their burners back on, so they can once again receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. After all, “the bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?”
The Tiews in Germany 