By Stuart Powell
Driving a car can be a metaphor to describe our lives. If you look back on your activities of the past week, how would you describe it by traffic conditions? A peaceful wooded lane surrounded by wildlife? A rural county road through farmland interrupted only by an occasional tractor? A suburban avenue with school buses stopping at every house? Or was your week like a big-city downtown street during lunch hour?
Regardless of where you are traveling, some things can dramatically change the flow of traffic. One example is when you see a hearse followed by a line of cars with their lights on. In most of the rural Midwest, drivers respond to a funeral procession by pulling to the side of the road and waiting while the line of vehicles passes by.
If you’ve been in that situation, what do you think about when the appearance of a hearse brings your life to a standstill?
“Someone is having a hard day”?
“Life is too short”?
Or . . . “When is Jesus coming again?”
Communion time in our worship gatherings is like meeting a hearse in traffic. It’s a call to move out of the busyness and pause to reflect. Take your mind off of the “traffic” in your life and consider the unspoken messages of that reminder of Jesus’ death. Paul gives us something to think about as we pause: “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26).
While you eat the bread and drink from the cup, pause to contemplate what Jesus’ sacrificial death means for your life—not only during “rush hour” times but also into eternity. Remember the hope and peace that his resurrection brings to your life. This pause will help keep a right attitude as we merge back into the “traffic” of our days.
Stuart Powell lives outside of Terre Haute, Indiana, where he serves with the North Side Christian Church.
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