Based on Luke 19: 12-17
For many years St Andrew’s Methodist Church in Undercliffe, Bradford had a Church Conference Weekend during November at Green Gables Hotel in Scarborough. Scarborough Weekend was an important part of my Christian journey and played an import role in my formation into the person I am today. I owe a great debt of gratitude to those who organised the weekends, the long list of speakers who inspired me over the years, the people I shared the journey to and from Scarborough with and dozens of ordinary people, who made the weekends special events, I have so many happy memories. Without taking anything away from the people who led the weekends, I always valued meal times shared with whoever fancied sharing the table with me, different people at each meal time. By and large the food was good, I remember a few questionable dishes over the years, but fellowship over a meal is always something special for me. Mealtimes are informal, unstructured, and an opportunity to share food and fellowship, and I treasure times like this.
Looking at the Bible, we read of times when Jesus shares meals with his disciples. There are the mammoth occasions like the great feeding miracles, like the one recorded here in St Luke’s Gospel, the disciples want to send the people away, but Jesus makes time to share food with them. You might recall at the beginning of St John’s Gospel when Jesus attends a wedding feast, or where he shares food with Martha and Mary. The story of the last supper, which we mark during Holy Week was always special for me when we were living in Norfolk, when we shared ecumenically a Passover Meal, and relived what it would have been like to walk in the footsteps of the disciples. I love the moment in the story of the Road to Emmaus, recorded later in St Luke’s Gospel where Jesus shares a meal with the two and the recognise him as he breaks the bread. One of my favourite meal stories is when Jesus meets with the disciples on the shore of the sea of Galilee and cooks fish for them to eat together, right at the end of the Gospel of St John. Mealtimes seem to be an important part of the Gospel story.
One of the final moments that we shared together on those weekends in Scarborough was a communion service, not in a chapel, but in the lounge at the hotel. During the course of the weekend we would intermingle, but in that service we would sit in families and share bread and wine in our family units, which was always special for me. I always find Holy Communion a humbling experience, it doesn’t matter who we are, where we are on the journey of faith, as we come to the table, we are all equal in the sight of God, and I believe that is precious. I am taking a sabbatical from my regular work shortly, which means that for thirteen consecutive Sundays, I will not be leading worship, and as I normally preside at holy communion, I am looking forwards to kneeling with others and being served for a change.
- How important are mealtimes for you?