Our Daily Bread The power of ritual

Do this in remembrance of Me.

— 1 Corinthians 11:24 When I was growing up, one of the rules in our house was that we weren’t allowed to go to bed angry (Eph. 4:26). All our fights and disagreements had to be resolved. The companion to that rule was this bedtime ritual: Mom and Dad would say to my brother and me, “Good night. I love you.” And we would respond, “Good night. I love you too.”

The value of this family ritual has recently been impressed on me. As my mother lay in a hospice bed dying of lung cancer, she became less and less responsive. But each night when I left her bedside I would say, “I love you, Mom.” And though she could say little else, she would respond, “I love you too.” Growing up I had no idea what a gift this ritual would be to me so many years later.

Time and repetition can rob our rituals of meaning. But some are important reminders of vital spiritual truths. Firstcentury believers misused the practice of the Lord’s Supper, but the apostle Paul didn’t tell them to stop celebrating it. Instead he told them, “As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes” (1 Cor. 11:26).

Rather than give up the ritual, perhaps we need to restore the meaning.

— Julie Ackerman Link Lord, when we observe the Lord’s Supper, help us avoid the trap of letting our observance grow routine. May we always be moved with gratitude for the wonderful gift of ritual.

READ: 1 Corinthians 11:23-34 Any ritual can lose meaning, but that does not make the ritual meaningless.

Our Daily Bread, Copyright © 2013 by ODB Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI., USA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. For more information on how to obtain a copy of this or other ODB Ministries materials, please write to: 322 P. Guevarra St., San Juan City, tel. no. 7222010.