Communion Meditation: “The Comforter”

March 5, 1989

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Scripture: John 14:16

Back when I was growing up, a long time ago, in the wilds of North Florida, we had a thing in our home called a “down comforter.” Maybe you had one, too. Ours was something my mother made with her own hands.

Now, a down comforter, if you should happen to be uninitiated, is a kind of blanket, but more than an ordinary blanket, it’s a sort of double blanket, filled, packed, stuffed, in this case, with duck down, taken from wild ducks which my father had killed while hunting.

You must remember, you surely remember the old, terrible, venerable Vaudeville joke, How do you get down off an elephant? Answer: You don’t get down off an elephant, you get down off a duck.

Well, duck down, for you much-to-be-pitied city folk, is a very soft, fluffy substance. It’s a feather which grows between the outer feathers and skin of a duck, and is incredibly

light, airy, almost weightless.... It’s wonderfully soft and makes a splendid natural substance for stuffing pillows, or, on a larger scale, down comforters.

As a boy, before I was old enough to do much hunting myself, I helped to pick the ducks when the hunters came in from the lake in the wintertime. You had to be careful not to tear up the down when you removed the outside feathers. It was hard work. You had to pay attention to what you were doing. I got tired of picking duck feathers, but finally, over a long period of time and who knows how many ducks, we accumulated in a large container a sufficient quantity of this special product of nature, and my mother began to sew and stuff.

And at last, it was done. It was a red down comforter, I remember.... I mean, the material

on the outside was red. It was thick and fluffy and was absolutely reserved for special occasions. No one used the down comforter on a regular basis. That was forbidden.

But when one of us was sick.... my sister or me... with measles, or sore throat, or whatever virus was currently rampant, mother would take out the down comforter from the cedar chest and tuck us in beneath it for special care and attention.

There was something different about the warmth given off by that down comforter. I know there was. You can’t convince me otherwise. No amount of regular, ordinary blankets could do what it could do. When you were under that thing, you were just like a little biddie under a mother hen. You were safe and secure, you were special, you were protected, you were loved, and you knew it wouldn’t be long before whatever it was that had you in its grip would pass and you would be well again.... the COMFORTER.

Remember what Jesus said.... in the Upper Room. It was during Lent. The King James Version has it, “I will pray the Father and he shall give you....a Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.” Isn’t that wonderful?

Now, He wasn’t talking about a comforter made of duck down, of course, but as long as I live, I’m sure I’ll never hear or read that passage from John without being reminded of the comforter I grew up with. I can still to this day feel the warmth and “specialness” it provided.

The preacher read that chapter from John at my mother’s funeral, and it all flooded in.....

....“He shall give you...a Comforter”...and I knew, even in my grief...Of course, There IS something real   ...beyond pain, beyond mourning, beyond despair, beyond death itself. What she gave to me, as mother, she is now receiving, as child....and so am I. There is the eternal warmth and security of the Divine Love. We can rest in it, and it will be all right.

Now, isn’t this, essentially, what Holy Communion is all about? There are many levels of meaning here certainly; the Sacrament is a profound thing; the more you get into it, the more you discover, but one principal theme is simply this---God in His infinite love provides us with His special care.

WE COME TO THE TABLE TO EAT AND BE COMFORTED.

It’s His Table, we need to remember that, it’s not ours. The Sacrament is always something God does. It’s His Table, His gift, His provision, His love that is being offered. There is enough here to meet any necessity.

And do I have to remind you. YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE WORTHY TO COME. That’s good news for me, and I bet it is for you, too. If you were worthy, you wouldn’t need to come. All you need to be to come is just a lit and a little sick. That is, all you need to be to come is to recognize that you do have need, and to want Him to be closer to you in your life.

Nothing magical or spooky will happen when you partake of these elements. This is not

some kind of sleight of hand show. Your problems will not be eliminated, your hurt won’t be diminished, your pain won’t be miraculously cured, your loss won’t be replaced. Don’t expect that.

BUT SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL CAN HAPPEN HERE IF YOU’LL LET IT. WHEN YOU RECEIVE HIM, SYMBOLICALLY, inside of you, in faith, trusting in His love, the way you did your mother’s perhaps long ago......you will know comfort, you will feel acceptance, you will have companionship, and you will receive an assurance that in His care ultimately it will be well.

“I will pray the Father and he shall give you a Comforter that he may abide with you

forever.....”

Come, receive, and find your comfort this morning at His Table.