Read: John 6:1-11

So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. (vv. 10-11)

Just as the people on the hillside sat and ate together like family, we who share the Communion feast become one family around the Table. When we receive the body and blood of Jesus, we become part of the body of Christ, which is the church. We are members of this body with one another—we are made one family in Christ. When we receive this feast together, we are given the gift of one another.

In order to truly flourish, people need to belong to a family. We need to be known deeply by others, and also loved for who we are. We also need the security of being cared for by others as well as the purpose of caring for others. We need a sense of belonging, or we will feel adrift in the world.

Jesus knows what we need. He knows that our need for belonging is just as deep as our need for physical nourishment. Communion is, for us, a celebration of belonging to one another as well as to God. When we receive Communion, we are adopted into the ever-growing family of God. At this table, we recognize that we have been given spiritual brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Through Communion, we receive the spiritual nourishment of belonging to God, and we also receive the emotional nourishment of belonging to one another. —Amy Curran

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for inviting me, and all of us, into your family.