Matthew 14.22 - 33, February 24, 2019, Sermon

SCRIPTURE Common English Bible (CEB)

Right then, Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead to the other side of the lake while he dismissed the crowds. When he sent them away, he went up onto a mountain by himself to pray. Evening came and he was alone. Meanwhile, the boat, fighting a strong headwind, was being battered by the waves and was already far away from land. 

Very early in the morning he came to his disciples, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified and said, “It’s a ghost!” They were so frightened they screamed.  Just then Jesus spoke to them, “Be encouraged! It’s me. Don’t be afraid.”

Peter replied, “Lord, if it’s you, order me to come to you on the water.” And Jesus said, “Come.”

Then Peter got out of the boat and was walking on the water toward Jesus. But when Peter saw the strong wind, he became frightened. As he began to sink, he shouted, “Lord, rescue me!”

Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him, saying, “You man of weak faith! Why did you begin to have doubts?” When they got into the boat, the wind settled down. Then those in the boat worshiped Jesus and said, “You must be God’s Son!”

SERMON

Like sunsets after a fire, a dirty haze hung in the air over the Sea of Galilee. A periodic sound, like distant thunder, registered faintly, but without the narrative arc of an increasing and decreasing passing storm. Instead, there was an unpredictable regularity of the sound and its subsequent shake. So subtle it was, that upon hearing it again, Luke’s question came like an after-thought, to our English speaking, Hasidic taxi-driver. “Those are the bombs from the Syrian Civil War,” he responded seemingly equally as undisturbed, as if he had been sitting sheltered through the storm, so long, that it no longer jostled his countenance. Meanwhile, Luke and I attempted to contain our shock. Here we were, Christian Pilgrims in the Holy Land, at the Sea of Galilee, and the waftings of war were carried on the wind.

Once out of the car, we both started talking at once. I had never been so close to war, as to see its residue or hear its sounds, and of course, it made me think of my own privilege of being born far away, and being just a traveler with a U.S. Passport, on the other side of the hill.

Just over the hill, like a moraine surrounding a lake, the Golan Heights set apart the Sea and bordered us from the fighting. Just over the hill, was a “multi-sided armed conflict fought between the Ba'athist Syrian Arab Republic led by President Assad, along with domestic and foreign allies, and various domestic and foreign forces opposing both the Syrian government and each other in varying combinations^[1].” Just over the hill, was where, “International organizations had accused virtually all sides involved, including the Syrian government, ISIL, opposition rebel groups, and the U.S.-led coalition of severe human rights violations and of massacres^[2],” such as the Syrian government, maming, torturing and systematically killing 11,000 detainees. Just over the hill, “ISIS forces had been accused by the UN of using public executions, amputations, and lashings in a campaign to instill fear.” Just over the hill, 470,000 were killed and were 1.9 million wounded by 2016. Just over the hill, lack of sanitation and crumbling living conditions had brought forth rare diseases which affected primarily children. Just over the hill, “many cities were engulfed in a wave of crime, of theft, rape, and kidnappings, as fighting caused the disintegration of much of the civilian state, and many police stations stopped functioning^[3].” Just over the hill, the conflict caused a major refugee crisis, where many were fleeing with simply the clothes on their back. 13.5 million Syrians required humanitarian assistance, of which more than 6 million were internally displaced within Syria, and around 5 million were refugees outside of Syria, and by that point the U.S., our home country, had stop accepting them, but here were were, American Christian tourists, just over the hill.

I wanted to go. It seemed unfair to be on this side with the lake and not the other. But I didn’t go. I didn’t know what I could do, and if I would just be in the way, but maybe those were excuses. So instead, we ate lunch at St. Peter’s Restaurant, next to bus groups and their head counts of - who wanted chicken, and who wanted vegetables. And by our doing so, after bellies full of buffet, we were allowed to use the beach of the Sea of Galilee.

The driver had told us too, that on occasion bombs would gO off their trajectory and fall into the far side of the Sea. We were far enough away that we were safe, but close enough that we couldn’t ignore the increased haze, or the more constant rumbling sound, or the irony, that this was the place Jesus walked on water, and calmed the storm.

Maybe it wasn’t irony. Maybe this fought-over land was exactly where Jesus intended to bring peace. Maybe he too prayed on the opposite hillside, while hearing the storm a distance off. Maybe he too felt the want to go to the place of the storm, to try to help his friends. Maybe this was just the place from which he needed to pluck Peter up from the his doubts, but swimming in the sea, amidst the storm of war, it was hard not to have that sinking feeling.

I note that Peter went out to walk on water, while the storm was still ranging. It was the strong wind that frightened him. Perhaps, it was a loud bomb from the Golan Heights - I too, went out in the water looking for Jesus, and once in it I too prayed for the Lord’s rescue, for peace to come and calm the bombs and turn the sky clear and quiet. But while I was there, and still today, the storm continues.

We packed up and left the beach early; it was too hard to swim and enjoy, knowing what was just over the hill. Instead, we sat in the dusty parking lot and waited in the shade, talking. It was a lot to process, and we had not even seen the war, just the hill. It made us wonder where Jesus was calming the storm; why wasn’t it now.

But I note, in the scripture, the calm didn’t happen until Jesus was in the boat. He walked through the waves, and the wind, and the war, with Peter. He didn’t just show up, and all became placid. Jesus reached out and grabbed Peter, and asked about his doubts, and reminded him of his faith. Maybe, in small measure, sitting on that curb, with a friend in ministry, talking about our faith and our doubts, was Jesus reaching out his hand. Maybe Jesus was there with us, in that storm of war. Maybe likewise, sharing this story with you today is the same, for the storms in your own lives, and the war in Syria. Maybe Jesus is reminding us that our faith is that which can weather the storm, and he is there to pluck us up, when we are discouraged and drowning, and people are dying. Maybe Jesus is next to us, in the pew, and in the pulpit, and just over the hill. Reminding us that he is there, reaching down and grabbing us, and lifting us onto the water with him, despite the waves, until someday, he will climb into the boat, and the wind shall become calm.

---

^[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_Civil_War

^[2] Hubbard, Anne Barnard, Ben; Fisher, Ian (15 April 2017). "As Atrocities Mount in Syria, Justice Seems Out of Reach". The New York Times.

^[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_Civil_War#Deaths

Matthew 13:24-29, 36 - 43, February 17, 2019, Sermon

SCRIPTURE

24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like someone who planted good seed in his field. 25 While people were sleeping, an enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 When the stalks sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared.

27 “The servants of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Master, didn’t you plant good seed in your field? Then how is it that it has weeds?’

28 “‘An enemy has done this,’ he answered.

“The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them?’

29 “But the landowner said, ‘No, because if you gather the weeds, you’ll pull up the wheat along with them. 30  Let both grow side by side until the harvest. And at harvesttime I’ll say to the harvesters, “First gather the weeds and tie them together in bundles to be burned. But bring the wheat into my barn.” ’”

36 Jesus left the crowds and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

37 Jesus replied, “The one who plants the good seed is the Human One. 38  The field is the world. And the good seeds are the followers of the kingdom. But the weeds are the followers of the evil one. 39  The enemy who planted them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the present age. The harvesters are the angels. 40  Just as people gather weeds and burn them in the fire, so it will be at the end of the present age. 41  The Human One will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that cause people to fall away and all people who sin. 42  He will throw them into a burning furnace. People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth. 43  Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Those who have ears should hear.”

SERMON 

Answers will come

“There are years that ask questions, and years that answer,” says Zora Neele Hurston, and perhaps she had this scripture in mind, because it is as if Jesus was saying a similar thing, “There are seasons that ask questions, and seasons that answer.” After eight years in ministry, and decades working with people, I have found this to be true, sometimes it is hard to know the wheat from the weed. Sometimes the only decision we have, is to wait. 

How many of us have sat in hospital rooms, doctor’s offices, or rehab centers, wondering if, and when, our life will return to how it was before? We wait on tests, and on healing, and on assessments, and deciding anything in the moment, is impossible. 

How many of us have experienced addiction in our families, wondering if the person will heal or die first, and how much will happen in-between, and likewise, there is nothing WE can do, but wait, and watch. 

Have you watched someone go through a hard time, and know you have the resources to help, but they are not ready to share, and then years later you find them sitting on your couch, sharing their story, and you see there, there is the answer, now is God’s time. 

Similarly, have you wanted to help, but didn’t say quite the right thing, and it rolls around in your brain, until one day, the person gives you a second chance, and you connect. There was God, after all that waiting. 

Were you hurt by something someone did which changed the relationship, and you struggled to know why, and then out of the blue, months later, all on their own, they apologize, or you find out why, and it makes total sense, and it wasn’t about you at all? 

Have you heard a thing in passing, and believed it, and were hurt by it, until down the line, the lie unravels? 

Do you watch the news, of this cover-up or that, knowing in time, the truth will prevail? 

Did you see the recent story in Idaho, which touted the the biggest drug bust ever, seizing 7,000 pounds of marijuana, (or weed) and then later finding out it was hemp, the two looking identical like wheat and darnel, but being entirely different plants, (hemp containing no THC, the ingredient in marijuana which makes a person high). Do you ever feel like that truck driver waiting to be released?

Have you wondered if your child, or your adult child, or child of the church, will end up okay, and all of sudden, you see the work that came from somewhere else, and they are participating, and speaking up, or found employment, or moved out of their parent’s home, or fell into a healthy loving relationship? 

There are times, between when we have planted, and harvest time, where we can’t tell what is weed and what is wheat. But we have a promise, that in the end, God will sort things out. This is not to say that everything becomes perfect, no - we make the wrong decisions sometimes with the best information we are given, and life happens despite our best efforts. Instead, what it is to say, is that God is at work, that it isn’t our right choices, or wrong choices, that have ultimate word, God’s grace does. God, in God’s time, will reveal the wheat from the weed, the life giving, from the life destroying. 

So, when we are looking at the field of our life, and faced with questions that have no answer, seasons and years will come that God will make clear. Then, we will see, what is to be pulled up and burned, and what is to be gathered in the harvest.

To everything there is a season,

    and a time for every matter under the heavens:

a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

a time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to seek, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to throw away;

a time to tear, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

a time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace. Ecclesiastes 3

Wait, and be at peace, a harvest will come, God’s time will tell. Amen.

Matthew 7.24-29, February 10, 2019, Sermon

Matthew 7.24-29 Common English Bible (CEB)

24 “Everybody who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise builder who built a house on bedrock. 25  The rain fell, the floods came, and the wind blew and beat against that house. It didn’t fall because it was firmly set on bedrock. 26  But everybody who hears these words of mine and doesn’t put them into practice will be like a fool who built a house on sand. 27  The rain fell, the floods came, and the wind blew and beat against that house. It fell and was completely destroyed.”

28 When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were amazed at his teaching 29 because he was teaching them like someone with authority and not like their legal experts.

SERMON 

Sources: https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/, https://www.history.pcusa.org/history-online/presbyterian-history/history-church, 1884 - 1984 Blest be the Tie, The Centennial - First Presbyterian Church, Baker City, Oregon 97814

It’s a pretty amazing thing that the foundation of these words of Christ is still being practiced 2000 years later. It’s amazing that these words were spoken, and we find ourselves here, at First Presbyterian in Baker City, Oregon. It is our foundation, and therefore it is important for Christians to learn church history. It helps us learn from our ancestors. Even we, as a little church, in Baker City, Oregon, need to understand from where we came to understand where we are going. We can also learn from the mistakes of early church leaders if we understand their missteps and we can rejoice and learn from their faithful devotion too. Today I would like to trace that history for us. It is much deeper than one can summarize in a sermon. But here are some highlights.

In the First Century: The words and sayings of Jesus are collected and preserved. New Testament writings are completed. A new generation of leaders succeeds the apostles. The Gospel taken through a great portion of the known world of the Roman empire and even to regions beyond. Second Century: The Lord has not returned as soon as expected, so organization is needed to continue the ministry, resist persecution, oppose heretical teachings, and spread the word. This is our history.  Is it rock or sand?

4th Century: The fourth century, like the sixteenth, and perhaps our own twentieth, is one of those periods in church history when momentous changes take place that stand out as pivotal turning points in the history of God's people. The century witnessed major changes and transitions in church relations with state and society. Here are some:

• Empire persecutes Church and fails to wipe it out,
• Empire tolerates Church -- Emperor Constantine professed Christianity and the church was given

   legal status.

• Empire challenges Church with Paganism unsuccessfully
• Empire adopts Church. Christianity was officially made the state religion in 381.
• Church challenges Empire
• Church persecutes opponents -- It started off the century as a persecuted minority. By the end of     

  the century the persecuted church had turned into a persecuting church.

• Canon of New Testament confirmed.
• Millions of new members pour in. Becoming a Christian is no longer a risk, but can even be 

  politically and socially opportune, so the church has to deal with a new laxity in standards of belief 

  and behavior.

• Major Councils - Church now needs to clarify and define what it believes. Long time required to 

  understand and explain person and nature of Christ.

• Church buildings flourish -- After legalization the church gets big into real estate. Often its great 

  basilicas are built on the sites of what were formerly pagan temples. So, think of this as the first 

  Buildings and Grounds Committee in the 4th Century. This is our history. Is it rock or sand?

16th century and the Protestant Reformation. The posting of the 95 theses by Luther in 1517 was not the beginning of the Reformation but in many ways a culmination of widespread developments that had been building up for generations. This is our history.  Is it rock or sand?

Presbyterianism in a wide sense is the system of church government by representative assemblies called presbyteries, in opposition to government by bishops (episcopal system), or by congregations (congregationalism). In its strict sense, Presbyterianism is the name given to one of the groups of ecclesiastical bodies that represent the features of Protestantism emphasized by French lawyer John Calvin (1509-1564), whose writings crystallized much of the Reformed thinking that came before him. This is our history.  Is it rock or sand?

1607 England begins to establish colonies in North America, many with the purpose of spreading Christianity or establishing more Biblical Christian governments .Presbyterians were among the earliest Reformed immigrants to America. They settled up and down the East Coast, and began to push westward into the American wilderness, founding congregations as early as the 1630s. In 1706, seven Presbyterian ministers formed the first Presbyterian presbytery in the New World. This is our history.  Is it rock or sand?

1741 The church began to develop its own indigenous leadership and educational, mission, and charitable institutions, as well as to experience its first internal conflicts. "Old Side" and "New Side" factions within the church, at odds over the excitements of the First Great Awakening, divide into separate synods. The schism, the first in the American church, lasts for seventeen years. This is our history.  Is it rock or sand?

In 1788, the synod met in Philadelphia to form the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA). It adopted a constitution that included a form of government, a directory of worship, and subscription to the Westminster Confession and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, which still orders our government today. In 1789, the General Assembly held its first meeting in Philadelphia. In the early years of the 1800s, the church carried on revivals and organized congregations, presbyteries, and synods wherever they went, emphasizing the connectional nature of the church. Presbyterians helped as well to shape voluntary societies to encourage educational, missionary, evangelical, and reforming work. Part of this education is the creation of things like Princeton or later Whitman College or the College of Idaho. As the church began to realize that these functions were corporate in nature and as the century proceeded, it formed its own boards and agencies to address these needs at home and abroad. Mission to Native Americans, African Americans, and populations all over the world became a hallmark of the church. This is our history.  Is it rock or sand?

1831 - 32 three Nez Perce and one Flathead Indian appeared in St. Louis with a request for information concerning the White Man’s “Book of Heaven.” They are not given the Bible and return home. Later, hearing the news, the American Board of Foreign Missions, of which the Presbyterian Church was a branch sent Marcus Whitman to establish Whitman Mission in 1836. Here a Presbyterian Church was built, preaching and teaching took place, while many Native Americans were killed. The history still told at the mission today, is told from the settlers point of view. This is our history.  Is it rock or sand?

In 1884, a meeting was called by the Presbytery of Idaho to be held in Baker City, at which all members and those in sympathy with the Presbyterian Church, U.S. were invited to be present. A minister from Union presided at the meeting. On January 5th, 1884 First Presbyterian Church was organized. Rev. J. S. Bingham was the stated supply and John Edmonson the first elder. There were in total six ruling elders and eleven charter members, all women. This is our history.  Is it rock or sand?

In 1888 - 1889 The first building was constructed. The original plan was to build a stone church, but the idea gave way before the urgency of time and finances. The School District, sold the land to the Ladies Aid Society, who donated the land on which we now sit. The cost of construction was $4,000 and the church paid, $1,100 assuming the rest as debt. This is our history.  Is it rock or sand?

During this time the Elders each presided over the pulpit for a time of one year. In 1894 J.R.N. Bell became the pastor. Bell was known for preaching in saloons and taverns and was a popular marriage minister. He also started the churches in Sumpter and Halfway. In 1897, the relationship between Bell and the church dissolved, citing the pastor’s wife’s health. From 1897 - 1900 The church considered seven pastors. During this time there was a great conflict when the church considered holding a revival. In 1899, Bell returned but there were negotiations and changes in decisions throughout the year on how the pastor would be paid. In 1904, the building was finally dedicated after fifteen years. In 1906, Rev. Bell again left, followed by four ministers in a three year period. This is our history.  Is it rock or sand?

1889 Louisa Woosley, first woman Presbyterian minister, ordained in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The Cumberland General Assembly refuses to recognize her ordination for two decades. In 1923, Women were allowed to become Deacons by the national church, and nine were elected in FPC. 1930 The PCUSA's constitution is amended to allow women to be ordained elders. In 1959, almost thirty years later, the first two women were elected elders at FPC. Previously women did much ministry through the organization Presbyterian Women. This is our history. Is it rock or sand?

The Depression was hard on the church, but later between 1936 - 1960, the church decided it needed to build a new building. This gave the church much energy, not only to build, but also for mission. The church sponsored refugees of the war in Europe during this time. This is our history.  Is it rock or sand?

The outdoors seemed to play a part in Baker’s history throughout, be it freezing pipes which led to bathroom breaks at the Courthouse in the early years, or hikes through the Wallowas which Rev. Urey, Moses Lake with Bob Jackson, and some of us hiked the Elkhorn Crest Trail awhile back, and have joined in many an event at Westminster Woods Presbyterian Center South of Pendleton. This is our history.  Is it rock or sand?

Social Issues: In 1912, one member was brought before the Rules of Disciple for renting her land to a saloon, and during the 50’s and 60’s dancing was outlawed at church by the youth group and there was much fear of the Beatniks of California. This is our history.  Is it rock or sand?

1954 The General Assembly of the PCUS becomes the first church body to endorse the Supreme Court's ruling against racial segregation. The congregation likewise, was urged to write letters in support of the Civil Rights Movement. Nationally, Margaret Towner was ordained as the first woman minister in the PCUSA. Rachel Henderlite becomes the first in the PCUS, in 1965. This is our history.  Is it rock or sand?

During the 60’s the church began honoring high-school graduates. During the Mid 60’s membership began to decline. Thus, the Ministerial Association asked that Wednesday night be designated in the community as the night for church activities. During this time also, a mental health clinic and detox center was set up in Baker with much help from members of the Presbyterian Church. This is our history.  Is it rock or sand?

In 1971, the church was concerned that Rev. Larry Roumpf was not attending to his pastoral duties, and though he preached and attended to all his pastoral duties, he also felt that the work of the pastor, and the church, was with the ranchers and in the community. This matter went to the Presbytery and Larry Roupf left later that year. Rev. Jackson followed Rev. Roumpf, Jackson was known as an outstanding preacher and stayed at the church for eleven years until a debate over the manse erupted. This is our history.  Is it rock or sand?

During this time Mildred Rogers was honored for her faithful service to the church as treasurer for 32 years. She would later leave stock to the church which, after the church had pledged to build the Fellowship Hall, would later help complete the project. Her endowment is still a vast majority of the church’s budget. This is our history.  Is it rock or sand?

In 1974, a middle-schooler’s cigarette burned the church down. For six months, the Presbyterians worshiped with the Methodists, and met in homes. This was seen to truly bring the congregation together. This is our history.  Is it rock or sand?

In 1983, the Interim pastor Rev. Lowell got married to Rev. Stephanie Charles, and thus was Baker’s first co-pastorate and female pastor. This was later followed by co-pastors Steve and Linda Toth, and Susan Barnes, and now me. This is our history.  Is it rock or sand?

In the past decade, the church has seen a great change in it’s Mission involvement, from once merely donating money, to now supporting the Backpack and Open Door, and Bread of Life ministries with hands-on ministry, so much so that Backpack seeks to become it’s own Non-Profit, community supported Mission. This follows a global trend of the work of the church, and the work of God not being contained within the walls of the church, but through Missional work, going out into the world to be with God’s people. Along with it, and due to many factors, church membership declines, while spirituality rises. This is our history.  Is it rock or sand?

As of 2018, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) had approximately 1.4 million members, 9,300 congregations, and 19,000 ordained and active ministers. This is our history.  Is it rock or sand?

Part of how we measure what is building our foundation on God, is what lasts. This is our history.  What of it is rock or sand?

As long as we choose to be part of the church and probably if we choose not to, we are choosing to define this history into the future. We are saying what we believe is important, as a society, as a people, as a church. We are that history today. We are the apostles, by our actions, by our foundations, we point to where God is still at work in the world. We have foundations of rock and sand, I wonder what foundations will last. Will there be a building, and bylaws, in 50 years, will there be worship? Will there be kids that remember eating food in our basement and walking home with backpack bags from school? Will there be youth group and pyglets who think fondly of their time here? Will they be out in the world or will they be here in this place, or will they bring the world of God out into the world? I guess time will tell, the question is on what are we building?

Matthew 6.7-16, February 3, 2019, Sermon

SCRIPTURE

Matthew 6.7-16 Common English Bible (CEB)

7 “When you pray, don’t pour out a flood of empty words, as the Gentiles do. They think that by saying many words they’ll be heard. 8 Don’t be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask. 9 Pray like this:

Our Father who is in heaven,
uphold the holiness of your name.
10 Bring in your kingdom
so that your will is done on earth as it’s done in heaven.
11 Give us the bread we need for today.
12 Forgive us for the ways we have wronged you,
just as we also forgive those who have wronged us.
13 And don’t lead us into temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.

14 “If you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you don’t forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your sins.

16 “And when you fast, don’t put on a sad face like the hypocrites. They distort their faces so people will know they are fasting. I assure you that they have their reward. 17 When you fast, brush your hair and wash your face. 18 Then you won’t look like you are fasting to people, but only to your Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

SERMON
I have a little wooden box, and in that box fits the whole church, God, the Spirit, and Jesus and everyone.
I have a little wooden box where I can take you, the whole congregation, with me and bring your greetings like a Valentine, into darkened living rooms or where fluorescent lights bear down. I unclip the latch like a letter opener revealing the love within - a plate and a cup.
I have a little wooden box, where loaves multiply, enough to feed a room, as many as this whole room, and enough to be carried over miles and miles and still reach the edges of town to feed those there.
I have a little wooden box with teeny tiny cups that can quench the thirst of this sanctuary and the thirst of one who is parched alone in a wilderness.
I have a little wooden box that begins and ends in prayer. The first prayer is the prayers of the people, or the person, and the second is the Lord’s.
In the middle, between the prayers, we remember. We remember him. We recount that, the night before he died, he sat at table with his disciples, and broke bread, and told them, “this is my body broken for you.” And that little corner, of the bread we shared here from this table, is torn once more at another table or chair, and it feeds another. And also, waiting on the plate are two, perhaps three tiny cups, only a taste, not a drink. With astringent and sour juice, we recount his words, “this is my blood shed for you. Do this in remembrance of me - and we do, in an awkward silence of the mash up between chewing and tasting and ritual. Then, when we can speak, we say the closing words, “Each time you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you proclaim Christ’s saving death until he comes again.” And usually, when that box enters the room, may it be a room of illness or old age, that line between saving and death, is all the more thin, and so we pray again.
“Give us this day, our daily bread,” and it’s not about food at all, it is, but it’s not, you could be fasting and it wouldn’t break it, because that meal, and that prayer, is to remember the tiniest sustenance, that feeds us and the universe, from beginning to end, all from a little wooden box.

After the Amen, to Betty’s Kimbell’s thin white hair in the nursing home, to Mardelle’s bouffant surrounded by her treasurers, and to Adriene’s hair now gone, covered in a wrap. I looked up, I knew she heard it too, “ this makes that daily bread part sound so different.” “It does.” Amen.