Luke 22:19-20 - Kool-Aid Communion

My boyhood church had deaconesses. In addition to visiting the sick and arranging meals for the bereaved, they also did the set-up for monthly communion. It was the same every time: Welch's Grape Juice poured into tiny glass cups. White bread, carefully cut into perfect little cubes using an electric knife.

One month, someone forgot to have enough Welch's Grape Juice on hand. Ever resourceful, the ladies found some grape Kool-Aid mix in the kitchen, left over from Vacation Bible School. So they mixed Kool-Aid with the juice and made it stretch enough so that everyone could partake of communion.

This was a Baptist church, and not "high church" at all. But people could taste Kool-Aid. This was a radical violation of the Eleventh Commandment: Thou Shalt Use Welch's Grape Juice for Communion, and  Only Welch's Grape Juice shall be used.

Somehow, the purpose of Communion was lost. Jesus didn't specify what kind of wine was to be used--though undoubtedly the wine they used at the Last Supper was fermented wine, not grape juice. There are some indigenous churches in parts of the world that don't even have grapes or wheat for making wine and bread. They improvise with other symbols for partaking of communion.

Luke 22:19–20 (English Standard Version) — “19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' 20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.' ....” 

The most important part of these verses is twofold:
(1) Jesus served the disciples. He's the one who laid down His life.
(2) "Do this in remembrance of Me." Granted, something 'different' may startle one's taste buds, but the whole point is to remember Christ. 

Father in heaven,
Keep us from being so hung-up on dotting i's and crossing t's that we miss out on unanticipated blessings. We may not be receiving communion today, but use common and ordinary things in our lives today to remind us of Your presence and Your self-sacrificial love for us. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.