Food Stories

This preaching series is on telling stories. Previously, BEGINNING, LOVE, and ORIGIN Stories were shared. Next is Food Stories.

Scripture Reading:

I found this Readers’ Theatre of Mark 14:10-26. I changed and adapted it a little to fit my congregation, but I am attaching the original version. What I like about it is the extended background information shared about the Passover meal shared.

Sermon:

In today’s scripture, Jesus knows that a good meal is all in the preparation. ¾ of today’s scripture is Jesus’ instructions to his disciples on where to go, who to ask, and what to say . . . which may seem strange because this is a meal that the disciples would have had many times throughout their life. This is the Passover meal after all – where every ingredient and food item has significant meaning to their faith and their relationship with God.

But what is so different about this meal that Jesus is preparing the disciples for? This meal is more than about remembering what God has done. It is about remembering who Jesus is – the Bread of Life. It is about remembering who we are in relationship to who Jesus is.

Rob Dunn, a biologist, says that hands collect data from the daily experiences of life and record different stories of one person from another. The bacteria and microbes found on hands determine the taste of the food. According to Dunn, we have storytelling microbes that record our day. Boyung Lee, a theologian, says her mother told her the first step in cooking is to start with a dish you have eaten many times before and remember the taste. Become familiar with every flavor and try to create the taste by using the same ingredients. She says, “Then as I re-create the dish from my memory, I will create something of my own.” Maybe that is why Jesus spent so much time giving instructions to his disciples on how to prepare the meal because soon they will have to do it themselves and more importantly do it for others. That’s what we do here. Every month, we share the Lord’s Supper together. We eat. We are served. We do this so that we can do it for others.

Worshippers were invited to share their “The Best Thing I Ever Ate . . . ” stories.

Some of the “Best Thing I Ever Ate . . .” stories shared were:

a good old fashioned meal when food was scarce; waiting for crops to be ready for bartering with neighbors in the rural area. I came from Ireland so the first crop of potatoes were small but delicious.
was just about everything my mother ever made. She made everything with such love and joy. Even today, she’s my constant touchstone for flavors, ingredients, and techniques.
my aunt’s Mountain Dew and Apple Dumplings. So good and nostalgic.
at my grandmother’ house, on a hot summer day in South Georgia, an heirloom tomato sandwich on her fresh white bread, Duke’s mayonnaise, salt and pepper, bacon and lettuce.
my dad’s kimchi stew and rice made at the end of our hike.

Communion:

The kids were invited to prepare the communion bread by painting symbols and words of love and peace onto the gluten free bread. The food paint is milk and food coloring. After they are painted, I had someone go in the back and toast them. Toasting them sets the image and prevents the bread from disintegrating from the food paint.

The kids became so invested in preparing the Lord’s Supper that one of them insisted on being my co-presider and took her responsibility of tearing the bread very seriously.