The Gift of Holy Love

Yesterday, I walked out of the house, arrived at my destination, and realized that I had forgotten to put on my jewelry. When that happens, I always feel a bit incomplete.

I wear four bracelets on my right arm. Each one was given to me by a person that I love. The bracelets are symbolic and hold a special meaning for me. Wearing them daily is a reminder of my relationship with the one who gave me the bracelet and of the occasion when I received the gift. Forgetting to put them on yesterday was a gentle reminder of how significant these gifts are to me.

For the fifth Sunday of Lent, the gospel reading is John 12:1-8. In this story, we find Jesus receiving a significant gift.

Jesus is at the home of his friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. He is there for a dinner where he is the special guest. As the friends and guests are gathered at the table, Mary stands and breaks open a jar of expensive perfume. She kneels beside Jesus and begins to pour the perfume on his feet.

When I close my eyes and picture this scene in my mind, I imagine the hush of the room. I hear people murmur, “what is she doing?” I imagine that Jesus looks down at her with love, and then he looks at the others with a glance that says, “let her be – let her give this gift to me.”

Mary’s gift is not practical. It is lavish. Her gift is loving, symbolic, and meaningful.

Jesus receives her gift and quiets those who would protest this offering. He accepts this anointing and wears the fragrance of the nard on his body as he travels his journey to the cross.

The memory of Mary’s gift will be reflected in Jesus when he kneels at the feet of his disciples and washes their feet, offering to them a gift of love that they will carry with them in the days ahead.

Jesus will wear the memory of this beautiful gift all the way to the cross. The scent of the perfume will linger on his body, but only as a reminder that the real gift was love – love poured out by Mary to the Christ who loved her.

Let Holy Love Hold You

When our children were toddlers, they would walk up to me and my husband, lift up their arms and say,

"hold you!" Even as toddlers, they knew that what they wanted was for us to pick them up and hold them in our arms. They were just a bit confused about their pronouns.

After we picked them up, our children would then proceed to grab our cheeks and turn our faces to look directly into their faces. Usually what followed were giggles and kisses. In those moments the love that was shared between us felt sacred and holy.

Spiritual Director and author, Judy Cannato says, "Everywhere the Holy One is shouting and whispering, 'Let me love you.' And all that is asked of us is to receive. In reality that is our life's work. Nothing more and certainly nothing less."

Our children wanted to be held and to receive our love. We wanted to hold them and show them the depth of our love. I believe that God wants to do the same for us - that in reality, God is desperate to love us. Like our children, God stands before us with open arms and says, "Hold you...I will hold you and give you my love." With all of the correct pronouns, that is God's promise to us.

May we respond to God's invitation. May we receive God's embrace, and may our hearts beat with holy love.

The Taste of Holy Love

In my work as a minister to children, parents often ask me, “can my child take communion before their baptism, or do they have to wait.” My rather unclear answer is, “that’s really up to you.”

I usually go on to say that I personally feel that God’s grace is big enough to cover those who are young and not yet ready to understand the full meaning of the bread and the wine. Taking holy communion can then be seen as an act of faith that is in the process of realization.

On the other hand, I say to the parents that if they want that moment to feel particularly significant and memorable, they can wait until the child’s baptism. On that occasion, we would honor their first communion at their baptism and mark it in a special way.

How’s that for riding the fence? Honestly, I am okay with whatever decision a parent makes for their child. I also am aware that different traditions treat communion for children in different ways. I respect them all.

What I have enjoyed over the years is watching the ways that children receive communion and bring their childlike approach to this sacrament.

My friend Ann bakes the most delicious communion bread. It is fragrant and sweet. It is a taste to savor. On communion Sundays when you enter the sanctuary, the aroma of this bread calls you to “come, taste, and see that the Lord is good.”

On one particular Sunday, I had made my way to the front, received my taste of the bread and cup, and walked back to my seat. As I sat on the aisle where others passed me on their way back to their pews, I watched as a very young boy around the age of four walked back to his seat with his bread in one hand and his cup in the other. As he walked, he would take a small nibble of the bread, and then a small sip of the cup. He continued with his small nibbles and sips all the way back to his seat. By the look on his face, I could tell that he was enjoying every small bite and every little sip, and he wanted to make it last.

I am sure that this young boy had no idea that he was taking part in a sacrament, but he knew the pure delight of the taste and the smell. He was experiencing joy as he walked to the front with his family and received the gifts of God for the people of God. He walked with pride back to his seat having shared a place at the table of God.

I remember other children who brought their own twist to receiving communion. Some would take a taste and sip from their parent’s elements. Others would wait until the service was over and ask for a taste of the bread. One young friend of mine used to clink his father’s small communion cup as one would do when making a toast. That one gave me pause and led me to consider that he might be on to something. It was his way of saying, “cheers to you, Jesus for your good gifts to us.”

What children have taught me over the years is to take delight in the table of God. They have taught me to taste the goodness of the bread and wine, to delight in the fellowship of those who walk to the table with me, and to know that God allows us to bring our true selves with us to the table. God will receive us and feed us no matter who we are, no matter our age or our mindset. God simply invites us to come and taste holy love.