One beggar telling another where to find the Bread of Life

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntpitrIsOWY[/youtube]Last Easter I stood on the streets of Edinburgh and offered men and women the most powerful symbol of God's Love. The bread and the wine. Here is an every day household commodity that has become a symbol speaking of the broken body of Jesus. I was amazed at the number of people who stopped and took the bread and the wine and the others who turned away reverently reflecting to themselves about the ambiguity of the idea. Bread and Wine on the Street. God on the Street reaching out to them. I've been thinking about how the church might engage with people this Easter and I'm wondering if my vision of ministers of the Gospel all over Scotland handing out bread and wine could be a turning point for some people. In my last post on the blog, I was talking about the challenge of Mission and the analogy of the gearbox. Gibbie's contribution reflecting on the role of the Holy Spirit helps us to see that it is God who enables us to make the gear shifts work smoothly. I was talking about the division in some people's minds between making disciples and perfecting discipleship. Some of course believe that Communion is only for those who are on the perfecting side of the line. I wonder if Communion could be seen as a converting sacrament. When the cross is lifted high for all to see, Jesus tells us that he will draw all men unto himself.Surely that must be people on the other side of the line. Now I know that the reformers never offered the sacrament without the Word of God first being preached, this I'm sure was because they wished to make sure that those who took the bread and the wine understood the significance of the Word being made flesh. Yet might it be that the bread and the wine also speak, breaking into the noise of a busy street saying " this is my body broken for you" You see it has come to me that the Gospel cannot be contained in the walls of a church. God's love is not only discovered through reading the scriptures, although this is a primary source. God's love is encounter when the Holy Spirit touches the heart. The Spirit reveals to us through the Gospel the amazing fact that God loves us. The cross demonstrates that love. The love is the cause of the cross. God's first cause for making a man was Love. God wanted to create out of shear Love. So for me what this bread and wine represent is a cause. God's Love for his creation. God's love for you. It is the cause that drives us to understand the vision. The vision is that he gave his only begotten Son. The greatest cause of all time is the love that God has for the world and that includes you and me. As many ministers and church leaders prepare material for the Easter Weekend think what would happen, if all over Scotland ministers of the Gospel could be found on the street offering Christ in bread and wine. Here is the question would we be offering cheap grace or a costly sacrifice? Its over to you!

One beggar telling another where to find the Bread of Life

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