Childlike Wonder and the Eucharist

Over the weekend Jamie and I traveled to Wisconsin Dells to celebrate Christmas with family. It is always an encouragement to gather with them and visibly see love working as we laugh, cry, celebrate, pray, and worship. On Saturday night we came together for a time of reading Scripture, singing songs, prayer, and gathering together around the Lord's Supper.
One of my cousin's has an adorable daughter, Delaney, who became the focal point throughout the weekend. The comment was made by one of my uncles, "How can something so small draw so much attention all the time?" It was Delaney's eyes though that re-focused my attention during the Lord's Supper.
As my uncle lifted the bread and said the words, "This is my body, broken for you," and "This is my blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins," Delaney's eyes were locked on to the elements. He set the elements down on the table to proceed forth in prayer, yet Delaney did not know that she was supposed to bow her and pray (nor did I, I guess), but rather peered over the table in wonder at what the elements were and why we treated them with such high regards. Why was so much attention being given to that bread and wine?
I wonder if we still sense the awe and wonder at receiving the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. When I extended my hands to receive, did I have an unshakable gaze, not only on the elements themselves, but on Christ crucified for the world? Do I really wonder any more at the unity and peace revealed as we take and eat? Do we become people filled with excitement as we think about God's mission in and for the world?
Our eyes and our actions proclaim the excitement of new life found in Christ. Participating in community around the Eucharist cannot be as simple and reduced as merely "remembering" an event that happened long ago, but instead is a place of incarnation: where Jesus Christ is present in the community of believers. What else should demand the gaze of our eyes than the sacrifice of our Savior?! We are joined together in peace and unity for the mission of God made known in the world. I pray that I become more childlike in experiencing the mystery of the incarnation through the sacrament of the Eucharist in community.
*Image taken from http://photographyminded.com/who-took-a-bite-of-my-cookie

