Knowing Partially

Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:8-10, 12-13

Yesterday I called for the first time on a woman in a locked Alzheimer’s unit. I introduced myself and said I had brought her communion. “Good,” she said. As I began to open the communion kit, she asked, “How much does it cost?” “It’s free,” I responded. “Good,” she said. I read scripture and then, when I offered her the bread, she asked, “What is it?” I replied, “Bread.” A theological discussion of communion didn't seem right. “OK,” she said. She ate the bread, and, when I offered her a small cup, she took it in a way that suggested this action was familiar to her. Then I said, “Let’s pray together in the words our Savior taught us,” and began the Lord’s prayer. Halfway through, she joined in. She then thanked me for coming.

It is so easy to assume what people do not know, rather than wondering what they might – or whether they might know things in a different way than we do. Had receiving communion reconnected her to memories? Was her response intellectual or an ingrained routine from ninety-plus years of life? Does it matter whether she had intellectual understanding? She knew in her own way at that place and time. Communion clearly connected her to a life she has almost completely left behind.

Whatever knowledge it is we are so proud of will, as Paul points out, come to an end. At best, we know only “in part.” When we talk about receiving “grace” in communion, do we think we know all that God is conveying to us? We will only appreciate the breadth of God’s grace when we are “face to face.” In the meantime, in our partial knowledge, the best we can do is love with faith and hope in what God is doing.

God’s peace,

Katie