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We all have things we want to do but avoid starting because we're afraid we'll mess it up. The fear of imperfection keeps us from taking the first step toward serving others. But what if God doesn't need our perfection before we begin? Sometimes the most beautiful outcomes come from the messiest beginnings.

You know that feeling when you're standing at the edge of something new, and your brain starts listing all the reasons why you're not qualified to do it? And the list grows: "I don't have the right skills...I've never done this before...What if I mess it up...What if people judge me...I'm just not ready yet." Yeah, Moses knew that feeling too.

If you want to know what Jesus' table manners look like, look at what he did right before the Last Supper. He got down on his hands and knees and washed his disciples' feet. The one who deserved to be served chose to serve. The one who had every right to expect others to take care of him chose to take care of them instead.

Every communion service is both a memorial and a proclamation. We're remembering what Jesus has already done, but we're also declaring what that means for how we live today. We're announcing to the world that the way of the cross, the way of sacrificial love, is the way we choose to live.

When Jesus said "do this in remembrance of me," he wasn't just asking his followers to think about him occasionally. He was giving them a way to encounter him, to experience his presence, to be transformed by his love over and over again.

Sacred meals require sacred behavior. When we come to the communion table, we're not just having lunch with friends. We're participating in a meal that connects us to Jesus' last supper with his disciples, to his sacrifice on the cross, and to his promise to return. That requires a different kind of behavior from us.

You learned the rules early - don't chew with your mouth open, say please and thank you, keep your elbows off the table. But are these the most important manners we can have? What if there's a different kind of etiquette that matters more than any manners your parents taught you, one that could change not just how you eat, but how you live?

communion is never supposed to become ordinary. Every time we gather around that table, we're participating in something that should transform us. We're remembering not just any meal, but the meal where Jesus told his followers that his body would be broken and his blood would be shed for them.

3 Don’t do anything for selfish purposes, but with humility think of others as better than yourselves. 4 Instead of each person watching...

Imagine if you could put on special glasses that let you see people the way Jesus sees them. What would change about your perspective? Instead of seeing that person who drives you crazy at work, you'd see someone God loves deeply. Instead of seeing that family member who always pushes your buttons, you'd see someone Jesus died for. Instead of seeing that person whose politics make you angry, you'd see a child of God.