Given for me too

Bread is poison to me. Three years ago I was diagnosed with celiac disease, an immune disorder in which the body can’t tolerate a protein found in certain grains that include wheat, rye and barley.

The dietary change was difficult but worth it. My unpleasant symptoms slowly disappeared when I stopped eating bread, pasta, other baked goods and the surprising number of processed foods that contain grain derivatives.

But the spiritual aspect of my new diet took me by surprise. I was halfway up the aisle on the first Sunday after my diagnosis before I remembered that I couldn’t eat communion bread. In a panic, I palmed the bread, drank the wine and wondered if it was sacrilegious to reject the body of Christ because I was allergic.