Earnest Anticipation & Fulfillment of Lifelong Dreams

I have earnestly longed to share this meal with you!

These are Jesus' words as he lifted the bread above His precious head during the final Passover meal of his ministry.  These are the words I will speak early tomorrow morning as I lift the bread and wine at the altar in Murrayhills Christian Church.

How long I have waited to share this meal with you!  I have dreamed of this very moment from the time I was three years old. 

This is what has been going through  my mind ever since I was asked to lead communion and to speak the words of institution over the bread and wine on this day.  I have an almost child-like giddiness bubbling up within my spirit as I contemplate the honor I have been given by being asked to preside at the Table.  Like the great women of old: Miriam, the first worship leader of Israel after the Exodus; Hannah, the barren woman giving thanks for the gift of a child of promise and prophecy; and Mother Mary, giving thanks for the salvation of all humankind, my spirit is filled with songs of praise and joy at the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.

Eucharist - A Meal of Thanksgiving - Photo by Trista Wynne

As I pray and consider the Scriptures etched in my heart, my imagination fills out what might have been going through Jesus' mind, the things He wanted to say but couldn't for one reason or another, on that evening so many years ago...

You don't yet know the importance of this meal.  You've been celebrating it all your lives, and yet the Spirit of God still has more light to shed on your hearts and minds.  Our Beloved in Heaven is working, even in this very moment, to bring the Kingdom of Peace and Love to the earth through you.  And it starts here, with this bread, with this wine, with the sharing of this meal.  The Kingdom of God begins with you.

A Child's Eucharistic Celebration

Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord alone.  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.  Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart.  Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.  Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deut. 6:4-9)

This morning, the preschooler that I nanny, who has just celebrated his third birthday, celebrated his first Eucharist.  We weren't in a church building.  There wasn't a lot of music or long prayers or chanting.  Instead, his father and I were eating breakfast with him and watching the birds outside the window.

On the Presence of God in Community: A Prayer after Conversation

"Simple Offering" - Photo by Matthew Wynne

Thank You, Lord, for blessing others through my simple act of baking this afternoon. Thank You for honoring my work even when I felt lethargic this morning. Thank You for soft, sweet kitties and warm snuggles and friends to talk to. Thank You for quiet time this evening to be with You.

Thank You that I can honestly come to You in all of my emotions, with all of the concerns, frustrations, excitements, confusions, disappointments, fears, delights, sadness, joys, anxieties, tumults, loves, passions, laments and praises. Thank You for hearing our concerns for our families this evening. Thank You for acting even before we could know what You are up to in all of the situations we have seen, heard, discussed, lamented and rejoiced about in Your presence.

We leave these things in Your care, for You are fully capable of handling each one. We also desire to be active participants in Your Kingdom, Lord, so if You would like us to interact with one another or have a particular role in any of the concerns brought before You today, please help us to discern the next concrete steps to take. And if we are to simply wait and watch You work, please grant peace and encouragement. Let Your Sophia-Spirit flow like rivers, bringing justice, mercy and steadfast love in all things, and may we, like Jesus, pursue the things which make for peace and bring You glory.

Good night, Papa; let us sleep in Your peace. Amen.

Comfort and Thanksgiving in the Communion of Saints

The altar of the world, the intimacy of human touch, the smell of baking breads, the communion of saints, the reminder of the forgiveness of the sin of the world and the waiting together for the Lord in preparation to act for justice as a community bring me hope and comfort following the lament of the former post.

"Gentle Kneading" - Photo by Matthew Wynne

Papa-God,

Thank you. Thank You for the blustery walk today with my husband. Thank You for the meditation at Frankincense. Thank You for lounging kitties and soft couches. Thank You for electricity and running water, indoor plumbing and garbage collection. Thank you for the sweetness of sugar, the spice of cinnamon and the warmth of freshly baked cinnamon rolls on a chilly winter’s day. Thank You for pungent spices and healing balms, for sacred incense and candle light, the kick of wine and the communion of saints.

Thank You for brothers and sisters across the nations, spanning all times and stages of life. Thank You for connecting us all! May we know in our minds, feel in our hearts and experience in our bodies what it means for you to make us one as You, Jesus and the Spirit are One.

As the wind blows this evening, I remember that You, Beloved, told Your disciples that this would be the mark of the Spirit of Life: that we would not know where they have come from nor where they are going. I’m thankful that those who are born of Your Spirit embody this principle, for sometimes I do not know where I am from or where I am going. I take heart, comforted that You, O Spirit, know where You are leading me, leading my husband, and leading Your Church! May we be stirred up and led by You in Your good timing, and may we trust confidently in You whenever You do so, in Jesus’ name, amen!

Letting the Bread Rise: A Reflection on the Life of a Theology Student

Photo by Matt Wynne

To be a student of theology is to be countercultural. In a world where technology advances by the day and races are clocked to the thousandth of a second, we are called to sit. While electronic organizers remind us of upcoming appointments and birthdays, and our latest gadgets keep us on our toes, ever advancing us to the next thing to be done and the next checkmark on our list, the theology student waits. Or at least that was how it appeared before I entered seminary myself.

While making bread this afternoon, (the dough for which is currently on the rise) I have been reminded of my countercultural status. You cannot rush bread-making; so too flows the process of developing theology. So also will effective ministry be.

Once, when Jesus was asked to define the Kingdom of God, after looking around for a moment, His eyes landed on a woman teaching her children how to make bread. As she added the yeast to the flour, she hummed a little tune with minor notes sprinkled throughout, and she recounted the story of the Great Exodus, when the bread had no time to rise. Her hands were strong from her labors, and they gently reached down to sooth a fussy infant as she left the freshly-formed dough on a sun-heated stone to rise.

The Kingdom of God, Jesus said, is like the yeast which that dear woman just added to her flour mixture. It is already present, as I AM in the world, and the Spirit of the Lord will stir up inside of you all, and then a season of waiting will come. The yeast is working within the dough as it rests; so too will it be in the Kingdom.

This time of waiting and letting the Kingdom rise among us is often more difficult than it seems. Since we live in a culture that values activities, commitments, pledges and busyness, taking a step back is difficult. The seminary student has one foot in the world of activity, one foot at home with family and spouse or loved ones, one hand in the ministry of their worshipping community and another holding a pen or flying over the keyboard in attempt to make the deadlines for their assignments.

Still, in the midst of it all, taking a deep breath, closing our eyes, and tuning our ear toward our Beloved, resting our head on His chest, listening to Her heartbeat, is the most crucial thing of all. As we enter into the rhythm of the next quarter, it is this heartbeat which guides our lives as shepherds. In these times of waiting, the yeast of the Kingdom will work its way into every aspect of our lives, and when the time is right, people will come from all over town to taste and know that the Lord is good.

You cannot rush the making of bread, nor the savoring of good coffee or the complexities of delightful wine. Neither can we rush the Spirit’s work within us, much less in another being. May we, as we begin another term of study, remember to pause, to breathe, to savor, to listen, and may the Kingdom of God rise within, among and around us through the power of the Holy Spirit, in Jesus’ name, to the glory of our Beloved, amen!