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Holy Meals?
If we are on the straight and narrow, if we attempt to do good, and often stumble and fall in the doing, we are still strong in spirit and soul and some of us, you might think, are goodie goodies. But none of us are perfect, and when we confront or entertain someone who is super not perfect, someone who has cut up life’s freedoms, who has twisted the law to make what he or she does legit, or who just believes crime is a profession in which anyone can indulge, we can get mad, can draw him or her in. And that’s the truth.
 We can get a lot done around dinner tables. People, stuffing their mouths with healthy food, or not, converse very openly, usually, especially when there is plenty of wine or alcohol to lighten up the spirit. Jesus received all sorts of constant criticism - how could He do this, if He is the son of God, if He is the King to come, how can He do this or that… Yet the goodness in Jesus is He was not worried about public opinion, or criticism, He did what He thought was right to do, because his mission was to change things on the streets of Jerusalem, and in all of Palestine/Israel, the area where He walked day after day, trying to give a message to those desperate and miserable and hopeless and losing their faith.
So, a messenger doesn’t sit in the synagogue or castle and send out words to those who are accustomed to hearing those words. Jesus, on the other hand, went into homes and neighborhoods and areas where He was not necessarily welcomed and, in those places, He often was offered a meal. Yet always, it seems, He was criticized because of with whom He ate with and what He ate, at times. What business of this was the public eye? You can’t please everyone all the time. sometimes not at all because of public opinion.
When he ate with tax collectors and sinners, He was criticized. In Luke he was accused of eating too much and attacked for dining with the Pharisees and lawyers. He ate with lepers, a prostitute, and even at the house of a sinner. Don’t we all? Who in the world is not a sinner! Surely Jesus had a few coins to purchase a meal, but it seems he depended on all sorts of people, friends and enemies and religious mentors and even a woman with a poor reputation at a men’s dinner where he was judged for eating too much. And of course, he cooked a barbecue on the beach. Since he was never alone, always walking with his disciples and friends, no telling what kind of meals they shared. Fishes and loaves were divided among thousands, and so surely, he got nourishment with a taste of those fishes and loaves as well.
And above all, as he walked to his death, Jesus explained how important sharing a meal together was in the light of things. Be together. Share the bread I am breaking for you, He said, and the wine I’ve poured into this cup for you. And bang - we have the Eucharist, a short, holy, fascinating meal that God sent to give all of us a secure way to worship the memory of Jesus the Christ. We, in the Eucharist, are united together in that meal no matter where we are. When we do the Eucharist at Calvary in Memphis, we are sharing a meal with those in Nigeria, in India, in Uruguay, in whatever church or house or beach - all of us join together to share that meal Jesus gave to us to keep us holy and sane and filled with his Spirit.
The Christian Eucharist was supposed to model equality and inclusivity, but we turned the Holy Meal into an exclusionary game - a religiously sanctioned declaration and division into groups of the worthy and unworthy - as if we were worthy to make such a division. I’ve told this story to many times. It still hurts. When my daughter and granddaughter and I walked the Camino in Spain, we were close to the end, and had been told if we reached the Cathedral by 11 a.m. there was a special Eucharist for the pilgrims. We literally ran some of the way to be able to get into the extraordinary Cathedral, which is huge and ancient and cool and filled with art. So, we crowded in among crowds as close to the altar as possible, which, mind you, was sort of gated off to separate the clergy from the masses of tourists and worshipers. So, we sat on the floor and even though the Eucharistic service was in Spanish, I understood and passed it on to my daughter and granddaughter. When it came time for the priest to invite the people to the altar to accept the bread and wine, we were told that only Roman Catholics who had been in the box, so to speak, to confess their sins, could take the Eucharist. We were furious because we were all pilgrims, we all had worked hard to cover the long paths and roads and hills and dales to get to the Cathedral in time to be able to take the Holy bread and wine. And all I could think about was that Jesus did not make rules and regulations or even require confession of sin to be able to share the bread and wine representing His body and blood with all those who remembered and/or loved him. Somewhere, the message has been tied up with the Roman Catholic domination of the church and the rest of us are below the line who can not only celebrate the Holy Meal but share it with all who wish to partake of it.
How dare a priest declare that we can or cannot take Eucharist when Jesus said “ALL OF YOU” can eat His meal. He had no rules or regulations on who could or could not accept the dinner of faith. The Holy Meal was for every single one of us who accepted it. Already it is restricted through decades of history that the Holy Meal be given by someone who has been officially ordained as a servant in the church, first the Roman Catholic, then the Anglican. It may not be so tough in other churches, especially those who serve grape juice rather than fine wine. But, if you peruse the four gospels, Jesus did not specify any special kind or breed of wine. Was it white, rosé, or heavy dark wine? I think in many churches today it is what the budget allows. The bread ranges from small white discs made especially for the Eucharist, but more real the homemade bread made by a church member. No matter. We must remember that Jesus died and did it for all of us, not for just a bunch of holy men sitting around a table. There was a woman present who had anointed him with rich oil, and, who knows who else was present helping to share and serve the meal of our Lord. Amen.
~ Rev
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audrey@audreytaylorgonzalez.com
www.audreytaylorgonzalez.com
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