<\/p>\n
Today’s post is from Marissa Sotos, mission developer at Tree of Life in Minneapolis, MN.<\/em><\/p>\n I was 22 when I took communion for the first time. The church I grew up in only communed once a year, and by the time I was old enough to partake, I was also old enough to be skeptical.<\/p>\n Then a year after college I found myself sitting in a Lutheran church. Working in the congregation\u2019s office had started out as just a job, but soon I got curious, and once I experienced worship, it drew me back like gravity. Intellectually I was still an atheist, but on Sunday mornings I just couldn\u2019t help myself. There I\u2019d be again, stumbling through the liturgy, and there God would be again at the back of my mind saying, \u201cJust talk to me. Please.\u201d<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t though, and I also didn\u2019t take communion. Each week the ushers would come by and each week I would shake my head. I knew communion meant eating Jesus\u2019 body and drinking his blood. That seemed like something I shouldn\u2019t do unless I was willing to let God be a part of my life.<\/p>\n Over the weeks I started to change though. That God-voice in the corner of my mind wasn\u2019t going away, and I began to look at the people taking communion with less trepidation and more longing. One day, the balance finally shifted. Instead of hunkering down when the ushers came by, I stood up and followed the congregation. The pastor recognized me, \u201cThis is the body of Christ given for you, Marissa.\u201d I took it and ate, I drank the wine, and then as I turned to go back to my seat, I completely panicked. What had I just done? Had I eaten God? How would that change me? I rushed back to my pew, lightheaded and with my heart pounding.<\/p>\n The rest of the service was a blur and I left as soon as I could. Outside I tried to clear my head, but it was no use. That God-voice was there, more insistent than ever, \u201cJust talk to me. Please.\u201d Having just eaten Jesus\u2019 body, I felt that I could no longer refuse. \u201cOK God, yes, I\u2019ll talk to you.\u201d<\/p>\n I was right to wonder how communion would change me. It did, and it does. These days I approach the table with more love and less fear, but as I stretch out my hands I still wonder, \u201cHow will this change me?\u201d<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today’s post is from Marissa Sotos, mission developer at Tree of Life in Minneapolis, MN. I was 22 when I took communion for the first time. The church I grew up in only communed once a year, and by the time I was old enough to partake, I was also old enough to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":241,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[15454],"class_list":["post-499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-post","tag-transformational-worship"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n