FIRSTS OR SECONDS?

Let me ask a simple question: why do we eat? The equally simple answer is that we eat to live. We eat because we get hungry and we need the food to live. There are many places in the Bible where God feeds hungry people. Jesus did this several times. There were a lot of hungry people in his land and he had compassion for them. They needed, literally, the bread of life.

Other important reasons exist of course and one of these has to do with celebrations. Marie Callendar Restaurants recognize this and make it easy to celebrate in one of their places by sending out special offers when birthdays or anniversaries come - if you are on their list. My wife and I are on their list so we get discounts, if we want them, in July, August and September.

Also, in the Bible, there are times when food is not used simply to assuage hunger, but rather for celebration and to remind people of God's blessings. One of these times is in the prophet Joel where we read of threshing floors filled with grain, wine and oil vats overflowing, and the people eating not just to survive but also to enjoy, to celebrate and be satisfied. As Joel 2 puts it, "You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you." Even when times were tough and food was scarce the people of God always held feasts and festivals of celebration.

Sometimes an ordinary meal has both aspects of nourishment and celebration. Do you remember when you were small, how you learned to ask for seconds? Maybe you still say, "May I have seconds?" If so, I'll bet you are not asking for spinach or broccoli but for something you really like -- turkey, potatoes and gravy, or a special dessert. And that's OK. We eat "firsts" for hunger's sake or for nutrition and "seconds" as a kind of celebration of that which we really like.

Communion is like that. Sometimes we come for "firsts", we come because we really need it -- we are hungry and need spiritual nourishment. But sometimes we come for "seconds" just because we like it here -- the fellowship, the atmosphere, the familiarity, and the assurance we find here. It's a good place to come, and I suspect there is a little of both "firsts" and "seconds" for us here each Sunday -- both spiritual nourishment and celebration.

Here, we have the bread of life ... broken for us ... nourishment for our souls. And here we have the "cup of blessing" ... a celebration of all that his shed blood means for us. Both nourishment and celebration, and for this we give thanks.