Communion Calls

Here it is a couple days after Thanksgiving, people are on the run before the turkey is back in the refrigerator. Christmas lights came on automatically at midnight Thanksgiving Day and now illuminate the streets. Cars are streaming up and down the streets with bags of Wal Mart, Target, K-Mart, JC Penneys to mention a few, crunched between the back doors or scrunched in the trunk. Credit cards are flying threw the scanners like an open fire hydrant getting cleaned out. We are on a mission, and if you look up that word it has various meanings. Which mission are we on; a task given to carry out, or communicating our faith?
That brings me to the subject of Communion Calls. Tonight was our turn to go to the homebound, of which I was dragging my feet on going. I thought it has been a full week already and I have several things I need to do and Communion Calls, which should be on the top of the list, was not on the top of my list tonight. I put myself together and forced myself out the door. I knew once I got started I would be fine but lots of forces were not wanting me to get started.
My first call was a senior lady that I have know for some time, she was not doing well and asked that we pray that she would just die. I tried to redirect her thoughts that Jesus must have felt the same way but that suffering has a great meaning and to use it wisely, maybe directed towards some member of her family.
Another stop was to a house on a two block long street, dimly lit and speckled with cars. I knocked on the door and was greated by a overprotective dogs barking. A younger lady answered the door and invited me in stating that her father was not able to receive Communion. I prayed with him and did a Spiritual Communion as he took every effort of energy he had to make the sign of the cross. His daughter exclaimed, well dad you finally got me to go to church, of which he follow with a weak drawn smile.
The final call I was greated by several people in a room maybe made for four. They directed me back to a back bedroom, there a lady laid in a very weak state who smiled and greated me. She who was very likely a cancer patient as well. She prayed with me and received Communion after I moved her hand to bring her back into awareness. I departed after an onstage walk through the living room again and bid all farewell as I progressed to the car.
This was an unusual night and I had a hard time putting together the season with the event. Is there an answer to this, I don't know. Maybe it is like the Church year, today is the end and tomorrow begins anew, Advent. Maybe it is an awareness of what is or is not important. Maybe it is nothing for me but that Jesus wanted to come to them in their time of need, to feed them to comfort them, to fill them with His love. Maybe in reading this you see a reason just for you. In any case, I pray for those people I was blessed to visit tonight, and ask for your prayers also, that they be filled with the peace, and strength they need at this time.