Vacation is winding down...

The Minton brothers, Bob, Frank, and Thomas, with their sister, Jeanie, and all the spouses gathered for a Sibling Reunion in Alpine, AZ. From oldest to youngest we were Bob & Rose from Mt. Pleasant, SC (near Charlotte); Frank & Barbara from Crockett, TX (and yes, two of the Minton brothers married a Barbara!); Thomas & I from El Dorado Springs, MO; Jeanie & Densell from Snyder, TX.

We spent Thursday, Friday, and Saturday together, enjoying one another, remembering days gone by, laughing together, and shedding some tears. The days were precious. Early this morning we all packed our cars, ready to depart, but before departure we paused for communion together.

With bread and cups before us Thomas read from Ephesians 4.

"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit-- just as you were called to one hope when you were called--one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

He continued, "The four Minton siblings started out together, in church, participants in the one body and one cup. Even though we are different, our spouses are different, our paths have taken different directions and geography separates us we still participate in the one body and one cup. We continue to be united in Christ and nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord."

I continued the meditation with a word from 1 Corinthians 10.

"Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf."

I continued, "It is appropriate that we have a piece of Passover bread for this communion. The Passover bread was bread for the journey as the Israelites left Egypt. Today this bread is bread for our journey. The Passover cup Jesus took for this special meal was the fourth cup in the Passover meal, the Cup of Redemption. This is the bread and the cup that we share today--for the journey ahead of us."

Thomas blessed the bread and the cup and we passed it to one another. After the communion we had opportunity to share our hearts with one antoher and to express our appreciation for the reunion. To close our time together we anointed Bob and Rose with oil and prayed with them for the days ahead.