The word “Bread” appears in the Bible 325 times. Wine, 303 times. When I decided to preach on “Sharing Bread and Wine” I was surprised by the plethora of choices from Genesis to Revelation. With only four weeks, we ended up leaving out Jesus feeding the 5000. We even left out the Last Supper. But if we take a step back from all the individual stories of bread and wine, to God’s larger story, what does God intend for us to taste?
My mother, grandmother, and mother-in-law, all knew how to lavishly convey the abundance of love through gifts of bread on the table. (Two of them avoided wine but that’s another subject). My Granny baked two pies on Sunday, lemon meringue and coconut cream, and then sat alone in her home just wondering if any of her 12 kids or dozens of grandkids would stop by for a visit. My mother has a secret ingredient in her fried chicken. I’ve tried to match her recipe for decades, but it always lacked her patience and love. My mother-in-law thought every meal should center around her fresh-baked pies and that meat was merely a condiment.
Maybe God’s table was meant to be like those tables. A place where the family members were always welcome to drop by. A feast that conveyed more than sustenance but also tender affection. A taste of life’s delightful sweetness. I wonder if God is a bit like the mother figures in my life? I wonder if God wants all of us to taste the goodness of life, would do absolutely anything so you and I may be filled with the joy of receiving and sharing love?
