Offer them Christ

We served communion to the confirmation class on a recent retreat on a pier out into the Frederica River overlooking the Marshes of Glenn at Epworth by the Sea.  It sounds cool.  It was cool.  45 degrees with gusts of 20 mph wind making it feel like the world was ending.  So we didn't spend a lot of time at it.  Afterwards, we walked back to land and began to pour out the remaining juice and put the bread out for the birds.  

I had recently noticed two large pieces of communion bread on our church grounds.  They stayed there for a very long time.  I chalked it up to the fact that the pieces were to big for the birds to get at.  So I learned my lesson.  I began to break the bread up on this day into smaller pieces.  

The confirmands took an interest and soon they all joined in.  Of course almost instantly, the sea gulls showed up.  The youngsters were fascinated by trying to throw the bread to the gulls and watching some of them catch it in the air.  What a moment.   Those soon-to be-members-of-the-church and the body of Christ sharing the bread with the world.

For some reason, I thought back to another image--from our tour of the Museum of Methodism.  A picture of John Wesley landing in America to "Offer them Christ".  The museum docent shared with us that Wesley wasn't very successful in evangelizing the indians of St. Simon's Island.  But he offered them Christ none the less.  

I was struck by the willingness and the seemingly natural way our confirmands "offered them Christ" in a different sort of way.  For at least a weekend, they offered themselves--to learn about the way they were soon to embark upon, and they offered some bread to some seagulls.  And for me: they offered me Christ.