The main focus of the lectures was about Prayer Life, which is based on Psalms and different patterns of prayer life. Especially, I was impressed and inspired by Robert Benson’s lecture. Robert Benson is a writer, retreat leader and alumni of 2 years of Spiritual Formation as well.
In his lecture, he distinguished the subtle differences in the meaning of “Holy Communion,” “Eucharist” and “Lord’s Supper.” He said that “Holy Communion is a commemoration of the sacrifice made for us upon the cross, calling us again to self-sacrificial love for each other. The Holy Eucharist is the name that bears witness to our sense of thanksgiving for the good things given to us by Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. The Lords Supper reminds us that we are indeed nourished by this act and by the Christ who freshens and strengthens us with his presence”. Then he went into a deeper explanation of the meaning of the Eucharist. It is called the fourfold pattern of the Eucharist and means the following: Taken, Blessed, Broken and Shared. We are told that Jesus took the bread, and when he had given thanks for it, he broke it and shared it among those who were gathered with him. Then he took the cup and blessed it as well, and passed it around to be shared among them. Benson emphasized that we must remember that we too are to be broken and shared for others. We are glad to be taken as His disciples or followers and blessed by Him, but we are reluctant to be broken, broken and shared for others. Henry Nouwen also said in his book “Wounded Healer,” that those who have experienced a wretched pain in their own lives can become healers for others who have also experienced bitterness and pain.
When we discover persons who have depth to their religious character we will invariably discover that they have experienced bitter disappointments, devastating hurt and heartrending loss along the way. These experiences, instead of driving a wedge between God and them, have created a stronger bond. They are people who have confronted life’s ragged edges and instead of being crushed, they have actually grown stronger.
I believe that we are not promised to be exempt from the pains in life, but that we are promised to be given the strength to overcome our trials, and to have God’s guiding presence in our journey of life. Yes, we are confronted with various trials of life such as financial hardship, heartbreaking disappointment, loss of loved ones and betrayal of friends, but remember we need to be broken to be shared by others.
In this season of Thanksgiving, I pray that you also become a blessing to others through your sharing.
Pastor Se Hee Han
