The Story

The other day in my Christian History class, we were discussing the doctrine of the atonement. There were some interesting things, but by the end of our discussion, I felt like it was somewhat empty (if not of substance, at least of emotion). As I thought about it, I decided that one of the problems was that we were trying to reduce the atonement of Christ to doctrine.  This is not necessarily a bad thing--I think doctrine is often undervalued in contemporary Christianity--but by so doing, we had pulled several aspects of that atonement out of their original context and attempted to analyze them "in a vacuum."  Almost all of the scriptures are narratives, not explanations of doctrine--God did not reveal them in a vacuum, but intimately tied to people and stories. While I think we need to decide what the "moral" of these stories is (i.e. reduce them down to doctrine), I think we lose something in that reduction.  In the end, Truth is not reducible down to neat list; it is embodied in Christ who is "the way, the truth and the life."

Hunger

The first Sunday of every month is, for my church, set apart for fasting and bearing testimony (is that a Mormon term?). I generally begin my fast after lunch on Saturday and don't eat until mid-afternoon Sunday. My church meetings currently begin at 12:30 on Sunday--right at the conclusion of my fast. I find it beautifully symbolic to come to church fasting and to partake of the Sacrament (the communion).  My body rejoices in the morsel of bread and I feel the cool water trickle down my dry throat.

I found it very appropriate that the open song of our church services had the following lyrics: "In fasting we approach thee here/ And pray thy Spirit from above/ Will cleanse our hearts, cast out our fear,/ And fill our hunger with thy love." 

 I think that the way I experience the Sacrament on Fast Sunday gives me a glimpse into a spiritual reality: I come to Christ's table symbolically starving and He offers me a feast of love; He offers me Himself--the bread of His body and water of His blood (I don't believe in transubstantiation, but I appreciate the symbolism). That is the only thing that fills my hunger and quenches my thirst. The food and drink He offers me is more real than everything I eat physically.  No matter how well I eat, if I do not partake of His food, I will starve. 

There are many things I don't know or understand, but I have tasted God's love in my life and I have found it to be delicious. It has filled my hunger and quenched my thirst.