I lived oversees in Oxford, England, for a year after college. It was there that I came face to face with serious doubts about my faith. They had always been there, but that year, they forced me to examine them, ask certain questions, and search for evidence of the things unseen I was no longer sure I believed in.
One atheist friend I had that year asked me, “If Christians are so certain of what they believe, why do they have to get together once a week to affirm each other in those beliefs?” His question was unnerving. I had no answer at the time. Why do we gather on Sundays if we are so certain? I added this to my running list of questions about my faith.
But Jesus knew why we needed regular gatherings. Perhaps on Sunday morning as we worship we are aware of God’s presence and his forgiveness and grace, but what often happens by Monday morning? We may have forgotten it—putting it in the back of our minds. We may go to work and get caught up in our daily tasks, proving our worth in what we accomplish. We may worry or fear. We may forget God is faithful to the promises he has made as we continue the desperate scramble to build our lives.
The night Jesus was arrested before his crucifixion, he broke bread with his disciples. “This is my body given for you, do this in remembrance of me,’” he said (Luke 22:19). It was their Last Supper and our first Eucharist.
When my atheist friend posed that question, I felt ashamed of my need for religion, my need for the weekly gathering, my dependence on others’ faith and the reminder that it was true. Yet, this was Jesus’ plan all along! He laid out a method of remembrance for us before his death. He knew I would need it in Oxford. He knew you would need it, perhaps even today. So just as the disciples did with Jesus so long ago, may we break bread together and remind each other of what is true.
Andrea Lucado is a freelance writer based in Austin, Texas. She is the author of English Lessons: The Crooked Path of Growing Toward Faith. Follow her at AndreaLucado.com, on Instagram, or Twitter.
