The table, our stronghold
The disciples of Jesus had gathered around the table at a point where their world was about to be knocked upside down. The gathering in this text and the gatherings that follow because of it, serve as a stronghold for the disciples and all of us. When life happens and sometimes we are not sure who we are or how valuable we are, this is a story that reminds us that we are each so valuable that Christ gave us the gift of his body and blood, broken for each and every one of us. At Saint James we celebrate communion each time we gather as a reminder of the gift of redemption that God has given us in the events following this meal and in what it represents. At Saint James Alexandria the carpet has a permanent reminder of the blood of Jesus. When people dip the body of Christ in the blood of Christ, sometimes a drop is spilled before it enters their mouth. Those stains are a symbol to James who preaches in the area that they fill. That is what it is about to us, to him, to our lives. Our lives can be the table and the stronghold for others, but we know where the ultimate stronghold is.
