Take This Bread – Rev. David Mundy
1 Kings 17:8-17, 21-22
Luke
7:11-17
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The cover art of the book caught my eye as I walked past in on display
in our excellent public library. As you
can see, the image is just a jam sandwich on white bread cut into quarters.
Except that they are not really quarters. The shape is more like a cross, a red
cross because of the jam.
Then I saw the title, Take This Bread, which could have a religious
meaning – a Christian meaning. The subtitle –A Radical Conversion –
“sealed the deal.” I took it home and read it in a few days.
The author, Sara Miles, grew up in a home where her parents were
thoughtful and avowed atheists. Both of them were the children of Christian
missionaries and made the conscious decision to turn away from the God and the
faith of their upbringing. So Sara never went to church or any other religious
institution and essentially believed what she had been taught that there was no
God and religion was up to no good.
As a young woman Sara ended up cooking in restaurants to pay the bills
as she established herself as a writer. She came to love the work of feeding
people even though it often drove her to exhaustion.
She moved to
She also discovered that Jesus ate with people who were outside of the religious
establishment and the conviction came over her that she and the upper-middle
class congregation which had welcomed her must feed the poor and the hungry.
She went to the priests and to the others in leadership and asked to
start a food pantry, right in the sanctuary around the newly crafted $6,000
altar. While the resistance was polite, it was strong and there was an obvious
fear of the stranger. But Sara Miles is a persistent woman. The pantry happened
and continued to happen as a gritty, no-nonsense miracle of loaves and fishes. Three
tons of food are shared every Friday with all who show
up, no questions asked. These are the words of explanation on the website:
All of us come hungry to God’s Table.
Every week at St. Gregory’s, someone’s hands break bread and bring us
into Communion. We extend Jesus’
invitation and our own welcome to strangers through another weekly celebration:
the operation of a food pantry in the church, open to everyone who walks through our doors.
This morning we listened to a story from the Older
Testament of the bible about the prophet Elijah making a pest of himself with a
woman in a village called Zarephath. As a widow she
is having trouble making ends meet without a stranger asking for hospitality in
the midst of a famine. This widow has a son and she knows that if she feeds the
man who has shown up on her doorstep she will take bread out of the mouth of
her starving child. Even so, she figures that this will probably be their last
meal.
Elijah says “trust me,” there will be enough to
eat and more if you just take the risk of feeding me. Actually what he says is “do
not be afraid” a phrase I am coming to realize is almost as important in
the bible as “love one another.”
In my mind’s eye I see this powerless woman at the end
of her resources not knowing how to respond, standing in front of him for what
seems like eternity in the silence, then giving in and doing as he asks. The
result is miraculous:
The jar of meal was not emptied,
neither did the jug of oil
fail,
according to the word of the Lord
that he spoke by Elijah.
Make this bread, take this bread, share
this bread. This is the essence of the story and it is at the heart of our
Christian story. In all the gospels we are told that on the night before he
died Jesus took bread and broke it and shared it with his followers. It was an
intimate moment and holy moment and the opportunity for Jesus to speak of his
own brokeness and generous love.
We also read in Luke’s gospel that on the day of
resurrection Jesus meets two of his downcast followers on the road to the
Take this bread. This metaphor of God’s presence in
the simplicity of a meal can become complicated, can’t it? At times in our
lives it is difficult to trust that God provides and that there will be bread
enough for everyone. It’s difficult not to be touched and even consumed by
anxiety. We find ourselves in situations where it is hard for us to see our way
forward. We feel vulnerable and wonder if we have the resources financially,
emotionally, spiritually to carry on. Often when we are fearful we are inclined
not to see Christ with us, or to have confidence that we will find the
strength we need.
Sometimes in congregations we are unsure if we can
sustain the choices we have made and what may seem to be generosity to some is
foolishness to others. We can balk at the risk of the open table, whether it is
on Sunday morning or at other moments in our life. I have been the pastor of
congregations with food banks and Out-of-the-Cold suppers and while these were
important ministries there was constant wrangling over whether we should
continue our work. There were always a vocal few who were opposed because of
issues of cleanliness and actual need and safety. We listened to the concerns
but we also carried on because we sensed that if the congregation became a safe
club it would stop being Christ’s church.
When we look to how we will do Christ’s mission
together there will always be a certain amount of risk. And we don’t want to
become defeated, as was the case with the widow of Zarephath
and assume that we are going to die. Last weekend I was at the annual meeting
of
Christ’s message to us this morning is, Don’t be afraid. I am here. God provides enough for this
moment and the next and the next. Come to the table. Come to the feast for body
and soul. You will be revived.
It is such a hopeful sign that a number of people will
join the church through baptism and affirmation of faith in various forms. We
want this community to be vibrant and alive and open to the gifts of others. We
need to live with imagination and a desire to do what we are called to do, not
only what feels safe and secure.
When Sara Miles was training in a restaurant kitchen
in
Take this bread. We have a Maundy Thursday service at
Last year one of the guests at the table was a fellow
who worshipped with us for a while before moving out of town. He lived in a
group home in the community and his behaviour was a little out of the ordinary
for our middle class congregation but we the better for his being here. Before
the service he asked if there would be refreshments afterward, always a prime
consideration for him. He looked disappointed when I said no, there weren’t any
refreshments this time, but he came in for worship. When I invited people to
come to the table, he sat down and stayed. And stayed.
And ate and ate. Others came and went around him. He offered the bread to them
and the cup. He got his refreshments after all.
In the Jewish Passover tradition a place is left open
at the table for the prophet Elijah in the event that he returns. I’m wondering
if our eccentric friend was our Elijah, unexpectedly with us as a reminder of
the imperative to make room for the unexpected guest.
When I was growing up virtually every church meal had
a sung blessing or grace and it was the same one every time! It has fallen out
of fashion through the years but as we come to the table today we can be
reminded that Christ is still in the building.
Be present at our table, Lord:
be here and everywhere
adored.
This food now bless, and grant that
we
may strengthened for your
service be.
Amen.