Pentecost 11b - conclusion

I delivered a load of Pastor Phil's Holy S##t to the Southside Community Garden this morning. The garden provides produce for the Tarrant Area Community Food Bank. (that is when it rains enough to produce produce) There are plans to put in irrigation and with the addition of what Seraphina, Desperado and Panda have to offer there will be good things growing for the hungry in Tarrant County. The Food Bank is a far cry from last night's dinner at Nick and Sam's where we feasted with friends on Chateaubriand and Diver Scallops with Sweet Potato Hash along with champagne and a bottle of red wine well beyond my price range complements of Chef Samir (along with numerous other offerings). It's been over ten years since I spent my sabbatical working in Samir's kitchen (contrary to popular opinion I did not go to culinary school) but he greeted me in a way that blessed me even more than the beautiful dessert plate he sent to the table to celebrate my recent birthday. The bread of life from heaven is like that. I know community gardens that feed the hungry and high dollar Dallas destinations provide sustenance (each in their own way) but the real meal is the relationship around the table that connects us to each other and gifts us with grace that warms the heart and feeds the soul. Elijah is strengthened by bread and water but it is the knowledge that he is not alone that enables him to go on. Delivered from all his troubles David declares, “taste and see that the Lord is good.” The Ephesian text describes the way we “follow God’s example” and live in love which is fine feasting indeed. And Jesus wants us to understand that the only way we can be satisfied is if we eat of the bread of life from heaven which is to believe that Jesus' way of being is what God is about and while imitation is the highest form of flattery, in this case it is the only way to be faithful, which is to say, well fed.