"The Blood of Christ; the Cup of Salvation"

Last night I served God at the 5pm service of the Holy Eucharist. I read from Genesis, directed others to read the Psalm with me, and served the 'blood of Christ, the cup of salvation' during the Holy Eucharist. It was a privilege and a sacred, intimate way to not only serve God, but also to serve my community of faith. I'm so glad I was asked. This past week I read a meditation from a book of Lay Eucharistic Minister's meditations that said the church looks different from the other side of the altar rail. And it did. To me, this view completes my picture of God...looking one way, I see the cross, the altar, the priest and God's light and word. Looking the other way, I see the face of God's community of faith...the church... and the work of God in the world. One view completes the other.

The reading from Genesis was about God's covenant with Abraham and His directions to both Abraham and Sarah which came so late in their lives. Elizabeth preached about this...how difficult it must have been for Abraham at age 99 to follow God's will for his life and to become a father when Sarah at age 90 bore him a child. I fret a lot about being too old to follow my dreams. Maybe I should heed these words from the Old Testament and rest in the knowledge that with God all things are possible.