Sermon: Food for Thought–Leisure to Eat

Sermon of the Week:
Food for Thought–Leisure to Eat

A sermon preached for The Kirk of Kansas City, Missouri, on July 18, 2021.

Part one of a five-week sermon series about Food and the Christian Faith, called Food for Thought.

Special Music: Give me Jesus
Hymn: Come! Live in the Light

Keywords: Self-Care, Side Story, Gospel of Mark, Food for Thought. #pcusa

Scripture readings (which you may wish to read prior):
Psalm 23
and Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

My kids were shocked, shocked,
when we told them that we ate at IHOP,
the International House of Pancakes.
on the night we got married.

Nothing wrong with IHOP, of course,
Just our first dinner as a married couple, that very night of our wedding:
A couple of eggs, hash browns, and orange juice.

Brook and I celebrated our anniversary this weekend,
And milestones often prompt memories, right, and reflection.

And so we were talking with them about that night
Which was a wonderful occasion for us.
We were just kids, 22 years ago,
Middle of July, middle of a heat wave…
The church didn’t have air conditioning
And I thought that the pastor was going to faint.
I think she thought we were going to faint.

But no one fainted, thank goodness.
We held hands, said our vows, gave thanks to God for it all.
And when it was all complete,
we all left the church to find some air conditioning somewhere.
We experienced a quick rain shower
on the drive over to our reception, which they said was good luck,
rain on your wedding day.
It had stopped by the time we got there
this place called the Barn of Barrington.

We had a relatively small wedding,
And it is all a bit of a blur, to be honest,
As major life moments sometimes are.
We had maybe 80 people with celebrate our wedding with us
And then afterwards they joined us at our reception,
Which featured music on a 6 track CD player that we had planned out in advance
And a buffet style meal.
That evening was great, and people had a good time
And there was laughter and some dancing
And Brook and I mainly went around the room
and said hi to everyone and the whole bit
And then when it was all over
We realized that neither of us had eaten dinner.

Brook said to me: Are you hungry?
And I said to her: Are you hungry?
And, confirming that we were both peckish,
We walked from the La Quinta Inn that we were staying at
Across the parking lot to the IHOP
For our first married meal.

We’ll always remember that detail.
Honestly, it stands out to me more than the reception
or half the wedding service itself.
Our memory does that for us, sometimes,
It remembers the side story as much as the main story.

In addition to our anniversary celebration yesterday,
Our daughters had their wisdom teeth removed on Friday,
Which isn’t a big deal,
but it’s still a deal, you know
Anesthesia and sutures and the whole thing.
They did great, and are doing great
but I worried a bit about them.

So all this reflecting this weekend had us reflecting about them, too.
And we were thinking about the day that they were born,
And there’s a story we tell about that day
Which is another example of this feature of our memory
How we sometimes remember the side story as much as the main story.

The main story here, of course, is that we went to the hospital as two people
And we left the hospital a couple days later as four.
Two new people were born.
And it was an amazing, marvelous, stressful, fantastic sort of thing.
On that August day of their birth,
much like this past Friday when they had their wisdom teeth removed,
the kids did great,
they are doing great, to this day,
Even if I was worried a bit about them…as maybe all expectant parents do.

But there’s a side story that we often tell
About that momentous day at the hospital.

We arrived early because Brook was induced.
Twins usually arrive early,
but Nora and Tessa were taking their time
and at 39 weeks we were ready.
They were ready too, they just didn’t know it yet,
And so we got there early that morning
Settled into our waiting room and got started with the induction medicine.
We were getting our minds and our hearts ready.
And we did all of that,
and we were talking
and I was making jokes
Because I knew those wouldn’t be appreciated later, you know,
And it was nice.
It was quiet and calm.
Now and then a nurse would come into the room,
check on things, write some things down, then leave for a good while.

Through all of this, I would look up at the clock,
and watch the time pass:
10 o’clock. 11 o’clock. 12 o’clock.

The kids were taking their time.
Which was fine and normal of course.
Brook was good. The kids’ vitals were good.
It just looked like we might be there a little while.

And someone had shared with me the notion
That my job was to be positive, to be encouraging,
and to help out … if asked….
But to otherwise not make myself stand out, you know.
Brook may like my attention, and distraction,
Or she may not,
And, you know, I should follow her lead
but otherwise just go with the flow.

The main thing
was for me to be there to help her through
the moments just before she’d be ready…
what they call the transition phase of labor.
Again, just to do whatever she needed, to be supportive,
to be present.

And so it got to half past noon or so
And I was over in the corner of the room or something,
just trying not to be obvious,
and I took a granola bar out of my jeans pocket
and I tried to open it so quietly,
to eat it without drawing attention to myself
and, apparently, I did a poor job of it,
because Brook looked over at me and she looked at the clock
and she told me to go and get myself something real to eat.

And I looked at her
to be sure she meant it,
And she did,
She knew it would be better if I had eaten something,
So I followed her lead and I told her sure, great, I’d go do that,
Knowing both that I didn’t want to leave her alone,
But also that I needed to do what she wanted me to do,
So I went to the door, and I told her that I’d just go down to the cafeteria
and I’d be back up in a bit.

And I opened the door and I slipped out and closed the door so softly,
as quietly as I could,
And as soon as that door was closed completely,
I turned, and I sprinted…
Down the hall,
Over to the staircase
Down three flights of stairs, all the way to the basement
One, two, three,
Trying to go as fast as I could while not being wild, you know,
I didn’t want to run into a doctor or a nurse or anything,
Though if one of them had seen me I’m sure they would have said
Oh yeah, expectant father, that one…
And I made it to the cafeteria.

And when I got there, I filled a plate with some chicken tenders and some fries
And I headed over to the check-out line.
Only I ate it,
all of it,
before I got to the cashier.
I paid for my lunch
And then I ran back up the three flights of stairs
All the way back to our room.

That was probably the fastest fast food I had ever eaten.

Now, I was gone for no more than 10, 15 minutes.
And in that 15 minutes,
Brook had gone from not being anywhere near ready
To being ready ready… you know.
They were coming,
any minute now.
And indeed, just a couple minutes later, we welcomed Nora. It was amazing!
And then a bit later Tessa, hurrah!
And everything would be different, from that moment on.

That was the main story.
The side story, was the time I missed transition
When I ran down and back to get some lunch…

///
This section of the Gospel of Mark
offers one of several retellings of what is called
the miracle of the Loaves and the Fishes.
Maybe you remember that story.
Sometimes we call it the Feeding of the 5000.

That story is amazing and wonderful
and we’re going to look at that story next Sunday,
John’s version of that story.

When Mark tells that story, he puts it here,
between the parts that I read today
When Jesus’s apostles gather around him,
and he sees that they’re all kinda exhausted,
because they’ve been working really hard…
And then a moment, later, after the feeding of the 5000
Where they cross over to a different place
And there are all those crowds there
that want to get close to Jesus
who want to find healing and comfort and relief.

If you were to sit down and just read Chapter 6
of the Gospel according to Mark
You would see that there’s just a lot going on here.
It opens with Jesus speaking in the synagogue of his home town
And finding no reception there.

And then there’s Jesus sending out the disciples in pairs, two by two,
to heal and to teach and to serve in various cities throughout the region.

Then there’s a story about the death of John the Baptist,
Then a transitionary piece, which we read today,
about those disciples coming back to Jesus
to share with him
all the things that they had seen and done.

Did you notice that Jesus sees that they’re exhausted.
So he says:…let’s get away,
Come on, lets go rest a while.
For many were coming and going,
And they had no leisure even to eat…

They try to do that,
But the people see them, the crowds follow them
And when they get to the other side of the lake
They’re all there, and Jesus has empathy for them
And he teaches and he shares the good news with them
And that’s the scene, when it starts getting late
That becomes the story of the feeding of the five thousand.
Again, we’ll get to that next week.

Then Jesus sends the disciples back across the lake,
And then there’s that moment where Jesus walks on the water…
That’s here, in Mark’s story, chapter 6.
And THEN, after all that, they get to the other side of the seashore
And the story picks up with what we read today
All these people yearning for healing, for comfort,
for the grace that only Jesus can offer.

There’s just a lot going on here.
No wonder the disciples are exhausted.

And the main story, when we follow it,
Offers some important lessons about God and about Jesus
And about us, right?
Lessons about the nature of discipleship,
And Faith,
Trust,
Hunger
Healing, All sorts of things.

But when I read Chapter 6 this week
And thought about all these high points in this story about Jesus
It was the side story that really stood out to me…
Those disciples,
Who had been sent out to serve the very people that Jesus serves
The people who Jesus has compassion for
People who long for justice, and community, and something good in their lives
The disciples went to serve them,
Just like we are called to serve them…
Those disciples did that work faithfully.

And that’s not always easy work.
In this chapter alone,
Jesus is driven from his hometown synagogue
John the Baptist becomes a victim of state sanctioned violence
And those disciples, it is implied,
Found some success, sure,
I mean, there are CROWDS of people there
People who hear the message about Jesus
and are there to find out what its all about.
But it is also suggested that others
closed the door, turned them away,
Pursued some other path than God’s.

It can be hard work, the work of discipleship.
Sure, it’s not always hard work.
Sometimes it’s friendships that we form
and easy but essential advocacy
Like collecting canned food for the hungry…

But sometimes
it is standing up against injustice,
Sacrificing so that the system might change
Choosing the unpopular but important decisions
Because the health of our neighbor is important…

And work like that can be draining.
It can be like being on a lake when the wind is blowing
It can feel like those closest to you, like those in your home town, don’t get it.
It can seem like the number of people who need compassion, help,
Is just overwhelming,
And what am I, trying to make a difference…
Will it even make a dent?

That question is the main story, right.
Jesus answers that question:
Yes, it always matters.
Yes, serve your neighbor
Feed the hungry
Tend to the need that is in front of you
Work to make things better.
It is our common calling,
As individual people of faith,
And as a church,
To work for these things.

But the side story is when Jesus looks at the disciples
And sees their need,
And where Jesus knows that they need to care for themselves
In order for them to be able to care for others.
For many were coming and going,
And they had no leisure even to eat…

Let’s get away, Jesus says.
You need a sabbath,
A break,
It is good for you.
Come, let’s go see if we can find a deserted place and catch our breath.

///
This new sermon series of ours,
Food for Thought,
Will explore some interesting and important lessons
About food and the Realm of God.

In addition to the Feeding of the 5000
We’ll look at the Institution of the Lord’s Supper
The Parable of the Great Banquet
And why Jesus refers to himself as Living Bread…

But today, we pause to consider the significance
Of Jesus urging us to take care of ourselves
To carve out enough space, enough leisure,
That we can stay healthy and focused and strong.

Jesus does this, for himself.
In various places, Jesus goes off to pray, to reflect, to ponder.
And Jesus commends this for us, too,
Knowing that it is essential to not just the success of our work together
But also so important for our own well-being, our own health.

///
Apparently, sometimes, when I’m focused on other things,
When there’s super important stuff going on,
You know, like a wedding, or the birth of my children,
I might not think there is time to eat,
It is more an afterthought,
or something to rush through
And that’s because there really are things that are pressing right now
Thank you very much.

Once in a while, ok, makes sense.
But we can also get into the habit of focusing
so much on the need and the work in front of us
that we don’t take as much care of ourselves as we should.

Have you ever had those kind of moments?
Are there other things, in your life,
that have more regularly taken your attention away
From important self-care
Food and nourishment, sure,
But maybe also good sleep, medical care, nurturing friendships?

There’s a reason for the Sabbath,
A regular time of rest,
And not just to honor God’s creation of the world, though it is that,
But also because it is good for us, essential for us.

There’s a reason why sometimes we need to lay down in green pastures
Beside still waters
To have our soul restored.
Thank you, kind shepherd.

And there’s a reason that Jesus looked at his disciples
And told them that they need to tend to their own selves
Get some good food in them
Take a moment to take your mind off of it
So that you can get back to it….tomorrow.

In this particular passage, the question is about getting that meal,
An actual meal,
Not fast food or rushing to get it done,
But sit down, put the napkin on your lap
Take a few courses
Laugh with your dinner mates over amazing stories
Renew yourselves.
There will be work to do when that meal is done.

We must care for ourselves,
So that we can care for others.

My friends,
May we find a good balance
Between the work we are called to do
And the rest and self-care that we must also do
in order to be equipped for that work
And may we find joy in a good meal,
Where we might linger, with leisure, with our savior Jesus Christ,
And when we do,
May we seek to provide that same opportunity for self-care
To all we meet.

May it be so.
Amen.

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