South Beach Diet vs. Communion

My beautiful wife, Rebecca, is starting her second week of the South Beach diet. I am very proud of her for her perseverence and faithfulness to it. But, on this Sunday, she had to break from the diet at communion time in our worship service.

You see, the South Beach diet is very strict in the first two weeks to eliminate all carbs from the dieter's menu while stocking up on lean meats and vegetables. Fruits are even considered no-nos for the first stage dieter. After two weeks, the dieter can begin to reintroduce some carbs. Some carbs, however, are considered no-nos even in the later stages of the diet. Matzah (forgive the spelling) is one such no-no.

This means that communion in our church is completely contrary to the healthy lifestyle of the South Beach diet. Our church uses matzah for the bread, the body of Christ, and grape juice (I'm sure with sugar added) for the blood of Christ.

Yet, Rebecca chose to partake in her Lord. A week down the drain because she felt a need to honor Christ. Now, if Rebecca were Catholic, then there would be no problem because the bread would have actually turned into the body of Christ when it entered her own, thus meat. And the grape juice would have actually turned into blood, a protein-rich liquid. This is due to the transubstantiation doctrine. But, alas, she is not Catholic, but instead protestant.

Oh well. I'm proud of her for trying so hard on the diet, and I'm proud that she chose Christ over carbs. But I submit that churches should look for a way to solve this problem.