Two years ago I was a promising young grade 12 student, ready to graduate and take on the world. I took Calculus with Dr. Nickel and English with Ms. Cook. Although both of them were spectacular teachers (look around for Ms. Cook, say something witty), I just understood Dr. Nickel a bit better. 

Something I don’t get is church lingo. Most people talk about God in metaphors, ‘open the eyes of your heart’ ‘lifting up his name’ ‘take up your cross’ and i have a hard time understanding. I’m a formula man. I put things into formulas, they work out, I am happy. I haven’t been in school for a while, so lets keep it simple. For example……

Area= length x width

Brad + Angelina = Brangelena

To determine the slope of a curve:

The limit as H approaches Zero is the function of X plus H, minus the function of X, divided by H.

I have read entire books devoted to the idea that the bible shouldn’t be read as a formula book,  but as a mysterious book of intrigue and wonder. I don’t remember exactly what it said, Donald Miller is a hippy anyways. Although I agree with him for the most part, I want you to look at these verses with me, and then we’ll make some formulas that these verses suggest.

16 Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.”21 I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.

The basic math formula I could come up with from these verses is not: 

bread + juice = salvation, but rather something along the lines of:
Grace + faith = everything

It is not the act of taking the bread and juice that makes you right with God. Sure, communion is good to remember a death and a resurrection, but we can’t give it any more weight than this. This time that we come to take the emblems is no where near as important as the time we come together with each other in fellowship and friendship, when we do so remembering grace.

It doesn’t matter that we take communion every week at 11:15. It doesn’t matter that we take communion at all. What we need to do is remember every day what Jesus has done for us, and to use this and our friendships to encourage each other through the week.

So skip communion this week, and instead grab a meal with a friend. Remember why you come together and share in his grace and peace over a 2 pound fuddburger. Just remember what is important. Grace + faith. Thats all.