Communion is not a “precious moment.” You can’t pinch its cheeks. It’s not a right of passage, or an empty ritual, or a pompous ceremony. It’s serious. It’s weighty. It’s meaningful, not just for you but for God. When we take communion we are remembering the Savior whose body was broken to heal our brokenness. We are declaring our love for Him. 

But we corrupt that moment, just like the Corinthian church did almost 2000 years ago. In their case, they were just using the meal as an opportunity to get drunk. As a result, God was making them extremely sick. They were disrespecting the moment – or at the very least they didn’t understand its significance. Sometimes, we do the same thing when we sanitize the moment or try to make it cute or leave out the second half of Jesus’ words on that fateful night. We forget the wine (or grape juice) we’re drinking represents Christ’s spilled blood, and the bread his broken body. We forget to look inwards, to examine our hearts and make ourselves right with God. We forget, and eat and drink judgment on ourselves. No wonder there’s no “Precious Moments” model of Christ on a cross with teardrop eyes and a sad smile. Christ’s crucifixion cannot be made into a “Precious Moments” figurine because what’s precious in His death is the possibility for all of us to have a personal relationship with God and eternal life.