Cup of Thanksgiving

"Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?"- 1 Corinthians 10:16 (NIV).

That reminds me of a funny Communion story. We were visiting an Episcopalian church on the other side of town. Episcopalians have communion every Sunday. Unlike our church, where the sacraments are brought to you, you went down to an altar, knelt down around what looked like a table, and awaited the sacraments to be served by the priest. They had the usual individual crackers, but everyone drank from the same goblet. Our friends told us to extend our arms if we were participating, if not, to cross them across our chests. I could see our nine-year old daughter on the other side. She had already made a confession of faith and I beamed with pride to see her at the Lord's table, her arms extended. The bread came around first and we partook of the body of Christ. It wasn't until I took my sip from the goblet that I realized the wine was authentic; not grape juice. Now I was alarmed as I watched the priest making his way around toward my daughter. I tried to catch her eye, knowing she would not have an appropriate response to the taste, nor did I want my nine-year old tasting real wine. I did what any "responsible" mother would do: I yelled out "No" when the priest began to tip that goblet to my daughter's little lips; not exactly an appropriate response either. My face was heated, but today the memory makes me laugh. I want my daughter to partake of the blood of Christ; it's a cup of thanksgiving and I want it tipped to her sweet lips in remembrance of Christ's sacrifice for her and for all of God's children. "For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes" (11:26).