Oil and Wine and Bread

For the last few weeks Susie, one of the pillars of St. Paul's, has been sick and homebound.

One of the things St. Paul's does so well is to rally around our friends when they are in need. So Nancy and Wanda have been organizing so that people are brining by food regularly and every day someone from our church is there from 1pm to 2pm to sit with Susie so that Larry, her husband, can get a break, run errands and get some exercise.

I've been going over several times a week. Sometimes I have been of some use to Larry as a sounding board if there is some decision to be made about Susie's care. Other times, I am simply a friend to Susie chatting with her and asking about how she is doing. This is because we are good friends and we love each other.

But I believe I am most important to Susie right now as her priest. For example, at first she wasn't sure that she wanted me to bring her communion. Eventually, we tried it, and she was surprised by how meaningful it was to her. We have these beautiful little communion kits (there are pictures on our Facebook page) with a small silver plate and chalice designed for a dignified small service from the Book of Common Prayer to be said at home or at a hospital or wherever there is need.

I also started to say the 'Ministration to the Sick' from the Book of Common Prayer a few weeks ago, which includes anointing with a special blessed and fragrant oil. One time, as I was praying for her, I laid my hands on her and said prayers, but had left the oil out in my car. At the end, she asked me to go get the oil; it wasn't the same with the smell and feel of the oil.

I feel in these moments, when I put the bread that I have dipped in the wine in her mouth and when I make the sign on the cross on her forehead in oil, that I am vessel or a conduit. I feel this in two ways. One is vertical. When I was ordained, I was commissioned to 'nourish people from the riches of God's grace.' I feel the strength of that commissioning and sometimes sense that great grace moving through me. It is a kind of feeling of vertical grace, coming down from God.

I also feel it horizontally. I am there as a representative of our whole community of St. Paul's. When I share the bread and wine with her, that bread and wine was made holy in our worship together on Sunday morning when, at the end of the Eucharist prayer, we said the great AMEN. Susie is a member of the body of Christ. She is one of us and the bread dipped in wine is a tangible sign that she is not alone.

I believe that in these beautiful moments we are experiencing the fruit of living faithfully within the church. Over time, our relationships to both each other and to the sacraments- the oil and wine and bread- deepens and grows rich, even beyond words.