March 27, 2015

Rev. Lindsay Collins

Mark 14:12-25

 On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples said to him, ‘Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?’ So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, “The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?” He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.’ So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.

When it was evening, he came with the twelve. And when they had taken their places and were eating, Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.’ They began to be distressed and to say to him one after another, ‘Surely, not I?’ He said to them, ‘It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the bowl with me. For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.’

     The sharing of our meals is important in our faith tradition as Christians.  The last 24 hours of Jesus’ life begins with a meal.  A Passover meal to be exact.  And the Passover is the retelling of the story of God delivering his people from slavery in Egypt as told in the book of Exodus in our Bibles.  It is a celebratory meal of what God has done.

     But here is the thing that I think we should really notice here -- despite acknowledging the betrayal of one of his disciples, Jesus takes the bread from the dinner table and blesses it for his friends.  Jesus doesn’t exclude anybody from the table for their sins – actual or presumed.

     I don’t believe that it is a small thing that Jesus chose to spend his last night with his disciples sharing a meal.   And I don’t believe that it is a small thing that Jesus chose to help us remember our salvation story with the gift of the meal we call Holy Communion.  I believe that food and more importantly the sharing of food is an intertwined part of our faith – just think about the pages and pages of the Old Testament dedicated to food and keeping kosher or the feeding of the 5,000 in the New Testament.  In fact, I ‘ve seen it listed that there are over 50 references to food in the Bible. 

     Food can be a comfort at times, hence why we call it comfort food.  It’s no accident that when a loved one dies, the family is deluged with food.  The impulse to feed is innate.  Food is the language of care, the thing we do when traditional language fails us, when we don’t know what to say, when there are no words to say. 

     And food is what we offer in celebration – at weddings, at anniversaries, at happy events of every kind.  It’s the thing that connects us, that bears our traditions, our sense of home and family, our deepest memories, and on a practical level, our ability to live and breathe each day.  All food is a gift from God and food matters.  And the sharing of food like you do as part of the Backpack Ministry is important.  It is sharing what God has given us and it is a way of letting folks know that they are loved without even speaking a word.  Food can breakdown barriers that are separated by money, race, and language.  You want someone to know that they are loved by you and by God?  Start by sharing your food.  It’s a important starting place.

     This Lent and Easter Season:  consider sharing a meal with the families of the Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN) and/or collecting food for the Backpack Ministry.

I share with you one of my favorite prayers from United Methodist Youth Fellowship:

For food in a world where many walk in hunger;

For faith in a world where many walk in fear;

For friends in a world where many walk alone;

We give you thanks, O Lord.