My husband and I had a very interesting experience at church last week. We were waiting patiently as the communion tray was passed. It went down the row behind us, and the gentleman who was serving received it. Then instead of passing it to us, he skipped us entirely and served the people in the rows in front of us.

We sat there in a state of shock, trying to figure out if this gentlemen mistakenly believed another server had already gotten to us (even though the other server was much farther away from us than he) or if he had purposely passed us by. We wanted to believe that it was an oversight, but it was somewhat hard to do when we thought that he had looked right at us. Needless to say, we did not receive communion that day, and as we watched everyone else partaking, we wondered – What about us?

Were we not deemed worthy enough? Was it just an oversight? Did our server believe that someone else had already given us the bread and juice? No matter what the reason, both of us felt a mixture of hurt and sadness as we left the church that day.

We have chosen to believe that it was an oversight, but the whole experience really got me thinking about how sensitive we are as people and how apt we are to draw conclusions based on such simple experiences. The church especially needs to be aware of this. For example, my husband and I have been believers for a long time; yet that didn’t make the experience of being “passed over” during the communal celebration any less hurtful. But what if we had been new believers? And what if we had felt that we had purposely been left out of the experience? This could easily make us never want to return to that church, or quite possibly any other!

This experience also caused me to think about the rich symbolism at the heart of communion. We are being offered the body and blood of Christ. Whether you see it in the Catholic view (that the elements become the body and blood) or the Protestant view (that the elements symbolize the body and blood), in essence, in communion Christ offers himself to us. What a beautiful gift!

Christ freely offers the gift of himself to all people. He doesn’t pass anyone by or want anyone excluded. But as his followers, we do not always extend His invitation so indiscriminately. Sometimes it’s fear that keeps us from sharing Christ. At other times it could be our own biases.

But how must people feel when we have the hope and light of the world to share with them and we don’t? When we see friends and family, co-workers or even good acquaintances needing Christ, and we just pass them by without saying a word? I wonder what goes through their minds. I wonder if they think – What about me? Am I not good enough for the message of salvation? Do they think someone else has already shared with me? Did they just forget about me or do they not think enough of me to say something?

No one wants to feel passed over, skipped, or overlooked. It’s hurtful. It breaks our sense of community. That’s why each of us needs to do our part to make sure that no one gets “passed over.”

What can you do today to extend the gift of Christ’s love and salvation to someone?