Communion at the Garden Tomb

There were several memorable moments on my trip to Israel, but this is definitely one of high importance.

We are sitting in the middle of a garden, the location of the garden has been chosen to honor a somewhat important site: The tomb of Jesus Christ.

It is unknown as to whether this is the tomb in actuality, but there is a power here either way.  I like to believe that this is the site because it has been preserved from being defaced by gaudy structures.  Rather then the giant church housing the "shrine" at the other proposed site, this site simply relies on the beauty of the Lord's creation.  Either way, as I said, there is a power here.  I was moved spiritually.  I felt the Lord's tug on my heart.  Our tour began at the place of the skull...or at least that's what they think it is.  It does look a bit like a skull.

We pictured the memorable three cross image, which is likely to be at the foot of the hill rather then the top.  The foot of the hill is now a parking lot...not quite the moving image of the pictures, but a certain humble quality compliments the life of Jesus.

As of yet I was not feeling the presence of the Lord, I had been a bit spiritually dry that day, somewhat hardened to the overwhelming influx of biblical locations.

We moved on to the next location and I waited for God to work.  I prayed for God to work in me.  To feel His spirit move me, to feel sorrow at the base of his crucifixion, to feel joy at the site of his empty tomb.  I felt empty, yet when I looked around, others seemed so full.  I was allowing myself be hardened to the Spirit.

We arrived at the location of his tomb.  A sign inside said something along the lines of "Rejoice for the tomb is empty.." I smiled as others exited, excitedly saying "Hallelujah, He's not there!"  And there was something exciting about entering a real tomb, from the time of Jesus - and seeing - He's not there.

But where was he?  Was he alive in my heart?  Was I letting him in?  I wandered to our next spot full of questions.  Full of prayers.  Trying to drone out the tourists.  Trying to ignore the pull to take pictures.  Trying to focus solely on what I was here to experience: Christ Jesus.

We arrived in the middle of the Garden where communion was waiting for us.  Mark Moore, our guide, shared some moving thoughts.  We reflected on the importance of this site - or the importance of what the site represented.  In in this setting, how magnified the taking of communion seemed.  At this site where his blood was spilled.  At this site where his body was laid.  The meaning of communion was alive around us.

To symbolize the great significance of this site and the serving heart of Christ Jesus, Communion was given somewhat differently.  We were individually approached by Mark Moore and he placed the bread in our mouth saying, "this is the body of Christ, broken for you.." He was followed by Chris Ball who handed us a small wooden cup, filled with wine, as he spoke "the blood of Christ..."

The delivery was somewhat distracting, but the message was powerful enough to override something so trivial.  Tears were in the eyes of many as the weight that Christ bore for us became apparent in our hearts.  We broke away to pray, reflect, journal, and meditate on the sacrifice that Christ made.  I wandered the garden taking in the enormity of what had occurred.

I found myself annoyed as I was distracted.  Someone came up and began talking to me in the midst of my meditation.  I felt like the moment was ruined and was somewhat bitter.  Almost frustrated with God for allowing such a distraction when I was trying to get closer to Him.

How silly to think in such a way.  I had this outlook that this was for some reason a special moment because I was somehow closer to God here then elsewhere.  That is a ridiculous notion, for God is with us wherever we go.  What's ridiculous is that I don't meditate on God in every moment.  Why do I need a special excuse; a special communion to reflect on my creator?  It should be harder for me to quit reflecting on Him.

It is also true, however; that I should take designated moments to meditate on Him.  To meditate on his sacrifice.  To meditate on his blessings.  To meditate on his miracles.  I should take time to intimately connect with Him - solitary time without interruption.  How naive and selfish of me to expect  him to conform to my timeline, when I won't sacrifice my own time for him.

The Lord blesses us with revealing moments, moments where his presence is made known.  There is always something to learn from those times.  There is always a message conveyed.  Sometimes it is as simple as love and sometimes he is saying to stop coming to him only in moments of awe.  Come to him in every moment.  Reflect on him often.  Meditate on him always.  Then he can reveal to you the deeper parts of his will.  Then he can make known his Glory in every part of your life.