March 5

Lent with Good Cheer


Psalm 145:The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord
and you give them their food in due season
You open wide your hand,
and satisfy the needs of every living creature.

Ecclesiastes 2:24:There is nothing better for mortals than to
eat and drink, and find enjoyment in their toil
This also, I saw, is from the hand of God;
for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?

Acts 2: 46-47: And day by day, attending the temple together
and breaking bread in their homes, they partook
of food with glad and generous hearts, praising
God and having favor with all the people.

Food, as we all know, is a basic necessity in the life of all human beings. Indeed the Bible suggests it is a basic requirement in the life of communities as well. And what was true of the early church has been just as true of the family of God as it has existed at St. Peter’s in upper western Montgomery County for the last 150 years.

Whether it be as communicants, gathered at the altar to partake of our Lord's body and blood, with the gifts of bread and wine, or as banqueters at a church supper, seated at long tables with the bounty of the Poolesville kitchen, or feasting on foods of Biblical times at private houses (we did just that at the Stypeck's some years back), eating and drinking have been a means by which God's children have come to know him and love him and each other.

The preeminent feast is our celebration of Holy Communion. Carter and I make every effort to get to church faithfully, because we consider that the Eucharist represents a part of people's hunger for what is true and the significance of bread and wine and our reverence for it and its spiritual connotations: Christ died for us ! Luke 22 recounts the story of the Last Supper.

I sometimes wonder why Communion is so often observed in a somber mood of almost dismal introspection as we focus on the death of Christ, although the proper response might be one of celebration. Noting that, in the quotation from Acts above, the Christians ate with glad and sincere hearts, we should consider that Communion was an occasion of sharing with the saints and celebrating the forgiveness of our sins for all time, found in Christ. It’s a feast we must all attend with all diligence at our command.

Lent is traditionally a time for fasting, based upon Jesus' fasting for 40 days. It is a time for giving up some pleasures while taking on new responsibilities. At least that is how my family observes it. Over the centuries, many have given up meat in favor of fish. A grocery list of foods of the Bible includes spices, fruits, vegetables, grains, fish, fowl, and meats. In my humble opinion, the healthiest foods are the first six of the above. If we give up anything, it should probably be the last two, not because we are vegetarians but because we think that juicy steak does not conform to our ideas of fasting or giving anything up.

To all our good health and Christian love, let us break bread together in a simple manner. Perhaps we could revive the tradition of a simple, shared Lenten repast, with good cheer and shared interests.

Willis VanDevanter