Today... El Tap

That Sunday, Father Danny and Preacher Davy stood at the front of the church. Danny made the announcement, “Brothers and Sisters, today we will be doing things just a bit differently than you may be accustomed to. It will take more time. If you have something important to do, please watch the time and leave when you must leave. We understand people have obligations so don’t feel bad if you must leave. God still loves you.”
Davy stood and made the same announcement Spanish. Then Davy sat and Danny began.
“As Jesus and the disciples went along, one of the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. Danny smiled at the congregation and said, “When we come to the prayer, please let me say it for you.” Then, Danny continued, “And Jesus said ‘when you pray, say ‘Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in Heaven so in earth. Give us this day, our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
Danny stopped and asked “Are there any questions? If so, please ask.”
One man in the back slowly raised his hand. “Yes sir,” said Danny.
“That’s not the way I learned the Lord’s Prayer,” he said. “Where did you get that?”
“Book of Luke, Chapter 13,” Danny replied.
“Oh,” said the man as he sat down.
Danny glanced at Davy. Davy subtly pointed at himself, which meant the man had been from Davy’s congregation.
“What about, ‘for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory’? You didn’t say that.” asked a woman on the back row. Danny pointed at himself the same way Davy had done. This question was from a member of Danny’s congregation.
“That is in the Book of Matthew but not in the Book of Luke. I don’t know which one is correct. I wasn’t there.”
There was brief laughter followed by more laughter as what was said was translated into Spanish.
“Are there any other questions? If there are, please do not be embarrassed to ask.”
A man toward the front stood. Danny looked over toward Davy. Davy’s finger was on his chest pointing toward himself.
“You mean the two books of the Bible do not agree?”
“No sir. Check it in your Bible to make certain." He looked out on the congregation, smiled and then continued. "Any other questions?"
No one responded. Danny lifted his hymnal and said, “Please join me in singing hymn number one hundred and nineteen, one hundred and nineteen.”
As they began singing, Danny looked at Davy. Davy was smiling. They had made it through the first prayer of their new program to bring people to God.
Davy was next. He stood and said, “Today we will have communion. Many of you are thinking ‘so what? We have communion every week’. Some of you are thinking ‘we do it every month or so’. A small few may be asking ‘What is communion?’.”
“Every Christian is familiar with the Last Supper. It is the subject of some of the world’s greatest art. It is a pivotal part of the Christian faith. The last supper and communion are probably the most repeated segments of Christianity. At the last supper, our Lord took bread and wine and offered them as tokens of his body and blood. Some faiths say this is only symbolic. Other faiths believe that the bread and wine is actually transformed into Christ’s body and blood. Some Christian denominations equate the practice with cannibalism.” Davy shrugged. “I can’t really say, but what I can say is that communion is a striking reminder of Jesus’ love for us. Because, keep in mind, the supper and the communion we commemorate happened almost a full day before Jesus went to the cross to die. How did he know he was going to die in excruciating pain?” Again, Davy shrugged. “Again, I can’t say, but it was certain he knew his death was coming and he obviously knew the manner it would take and, yes, he cried later that night in the garden. But, even knowing what was to come, he allowed it to happen. Would you have a love such as that?”
Davy removed a cloth covering several loves of flatbread and two cups. “Padre Danny and I will pass in front of you. As we do, please break a piece of bread from the loaf and take a sip of wine from the cup. If you prefer, you may dip your bread into the cup. You may take the bread only. You may take the wine only. Or, if you prefer, take nothing. It is entirely up to you, but, as we pass, think to yourself of the love required to know of the horror that was to come and what you would do.”
Danny took a tray of bread and wine and went to the left side of the church. Davy took a tray and went to the right. They stopped in front of each individual and as the person would break off a piece of bread, they would say, “This is my body”. As the person dipped his bread into the cup, they would say, “This is my blood”. As the person ate his or her portion, they would repeat, “Do this in remembrance of me”. Nothing was rushed, nothing was hurried. Some people stood. Some sat. Each person had his time with the bread and the wine.