When clergy arrive at a new post, there is typically a formal worship service honouring this transition. These services are developed by the diocese with opportunity for feedback from the clergy and congregation. It is normal, for example, for the clergy and congregation to pick the music and determine who will be involved in the various aspects of the worship service.
The celebration of new ministry held following my arrival here included a procession during the offertory of items representing the relationship between the clergy and the congregation – like the keys to the building, a bible, service books, oils, bread and wine. When reviewing this service, I opted to make one suggestion for this moment – that a casserole be included in this procession of items, symbolic of the importance of food in the life of the congregation.
Think of all the times we have gathered in and around food. How many coffee hours have provided times of conversation and connection? How meaningful has it been to have breakfast together before vestry meetings? How much fun did we have at Thrive where families gathered first to make and share dinner? How many funerals have enabled us to gather in the hall to share stories and memories? How many weddings feasts have been celebrated here? How wonderful is it to see the Essex community coming together at pasta dinners, including our friends from Community Living? How great is it that we will once again host the Queer community with a BBQ after the flag raising this week? Food is important to the life of this congregation.
Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.
This week’s reading follows the miraculous feeding of the five thousand with the meagre offering of a boy’s five barley loaves and two fish. No doubt, this was a powerful experience. Imagine being in such a large crowd. What would it have been like when everyone was asked to sit down on the grass? How soon did it happen that people began to speak to their neighbours, asking about what is going on, and then taking time to get to the know each other as they watched things unfold? How long did it take before those around became friends, embracing the joy and the wonder of the moment?
Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.’
The food and fellowship experienced in the miraculous feeding of the five thousand pointed to far more than eating barley loaves and fish. Yes, it was a miracle of epic proportions. It was also a miracle experienced by an impromptu community that was brought together through a shared faith in Jesus. Who knows to what extent these relationships transcended this moment? Who knows what seeds were planted and how these impacted the lives of those five thousand people from that point forward? Who knows to what extent that massive picnic contributed to the eventual building of the church as the stories of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection continued to be told?
Food is important to the wellbeing of human beings. Food and fellowship can lead to far more than physical nourishment. When food is shared in community, the possibilities are far more than we can ask or imagine. The food that endures for eternal life includes the relationships that are built when food and fellowship are shared. It is no accident that we refer to the meal we celebrate in worship as Holy Communion – communion having the same foundation as the word community. Our participation in this holy moment invites us to enter more deeply into the mystery that is our relationship to the One who nourishes in bread and wine transformed while also connecting us to each other. By engaging in this sacrament, we create space to receive the food that endures for eternal life.
May we remain ever open to being nourished by the gifts God offers in the sacraments, in the Church, and in each other as we seek to create spaces for the world to be nourished in and through us. This we pray as we sing #73 One Bread, One Body.