Act 5 - Quiche

An act of generosity can be something incredibly simple. There's five of us in our house - myself, my husband, the two kids and my mum. My mum is wonderful. She does my washing, my washing up, looks after the dog whilst I'm at work and feeds the family on the days when I'm working.
Today was a very odd day as I was only working a half shift, meaning I was home by three. Whilst my mum often feeds us we very rarely return this, so as soon as I read today’s act I texted mum and told her I would cook this evening for us all. No grand gesture but something very much appreciated, and a reminder that I should do it far more often.
The title of my blog was in part inspired by how much I love baking for people as a gesture of generosity, hospitality and love. My ordination training has meant this has very much been neglected. I feel it's time to get my bake-on once more......

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat; this is my body.’ (Matthew 26:26 NIV)

On the ninth day of Christmas...

...I hung out with friends

Christmas has been a crazy mix of work, church and family that there's been very little time for friends. Tonight some of our friends came round with their children and we ate, drank, laughed and made merry. Tonight I thank God that I am blessed with true friendship.

On the fourth day of Christmas...

I was really tired!

Second day back in work and I was woken up at 4.30 am by my daughter being sick. She felt much better afterwards but the prospect of a 12 hour shift ahead of me was rather daunting. As I wrote yesterday I am surrounded by an epic team but what I was grateful for today was Christmas leftovers! I thank God for the abundance of food we're blessed to have, look forward to and which sustains us when all I wanted to do was curl up and sleep.

On the third day of Christmas...

...I was reminded how epic my job is

You never know what's going to happen on the ward between Christmas and New Year, with less planned treatments the unpredictable happens. After four beautiful days off I returned to work apprehensive but was greeted by a day of awesome colleagues, wonderful patients, one of my most favourite doctors and a LOT of festive snacks. Today I thank God for a job I love and being part of a wonderful team.

Spiritual Diet Plan

Sermon preached 16.8.15 based on Proverbs 9:1-6, Psalm 34:9-14, Ephesians 5:15-20 and John 6:51-58.

My routine each day when I arrive on the ward where I work is to go straight to the kitchen and make myself a cup of coffee. This follows the travel mug of coffee I’ve made at home and drunk on my drive in. I love my morning coffee, and those who know me quite well might allude to the fact that I’m not the cheerful and kind soul you all know me to be until I’ve had it.

On Tuesday when I arrived into the ward kitchen, following my daily routine, my colleague was making what looked like a cup of herbal tea. When I remarked upon it she declared she was detoxing, had given up caffeine (a thought that would fill me with horror), and was drinking special detox “Boo tea…all the celebs are drinking it!” I was informed.

I’m not really that well in touch with celebrity culture but this isn’t the first diet fad to hit the ward- we’ve had the usual Weight Watchers and Slimming World, but then there’s been Liter Life, Slim fast, The Atkins Diet, Blood Group diet, magic water and the 5:2 diet. I myself- I know, unbelievable- have tried some of these.

There’s also been the exercise regimes that have spread through the ward- running clubs, boot camp, mountain biking, spinning, tough mudder, yoga, pilates- I’m exhausted just saying that- all in pursuit of being of being the healthiest, trimmest, best version of ourselves. To be our best.

These physical interventions also have psychological benefits- we feel better about ourselves, we have more energy, but there’s often a downside. The latest fad diet is often hard to maintain, you give in to temptation, or get fed up of being “good”. My friend with her Boo tea was scuppered even before lunchtime- as we so often are at work- by grateful relatives with a large delivery of cupcakes, which is probably why despite having a ward 150m long I’m still not slim.

After all this talk of food you might be feeling a bit peckish, and maybe doubly so after today’s readings; In our Proverbs reading we were invited to drink the wine and eat the bread of wisdom, The psalm alluded to the Lord feeding our spiritual hunger and the Ephesians reading warned us to be filled with the Holy Spirit rather than the alcoholic sort.

The diet and fitness regimes popular amongst my colleagues serve to improve our physical health, and as I’ve mentioned there are psychological benefits, but scripture is rich with metaphors of hunger and thirst which seek to show us how to improve our spiritual health and get our souls into shape.

The Gospel reading has Jesus inviting us to share in the ultimate spiritual diet- to eat his flesh and drink his blood, “the one who eats this bread will live forever”. The diet Jesus has to offer us is not a quick fix for the here and now- it’s a plan to get us fit for eternity. In our culture we’re so keen to satisfy our other appetites- like the hunger to be fitter or slimmer, to “look better” and to live longer- that it’s easy to neglect our spiritual hunger.

Jesus reveals in the gospel that he is the one who can really sustain us. We try to feed our other appetites and hope that this will bring us happiness, and we may have tried to feed our spiritual hunger in other ways, or by other spiritual practices. Like the attempt to find the perfect weight loss or exercise plan, it doesn’t meet our needs- it doesn’t feed our hunger or quench our thirst. We remain spiritually unsatisfied, unfulfilled- hungry and thirsty for something only Christ can give us.

Today’s gospel is a reminder that the Word Became flesh, and that flesh was sacrificed to sustain us. To Jesus’ audience “body” would have meant the entire person, and “blood” the absolute essence of life. Jesus offers and indeed gave himself entirely.

Flesh and blood underline Jesus’ humanity, whilst echoing back to the mystical beginning of John’s gospel. Jesus, word made flesh, is the spirit of God’s Wisdom inviting us to “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Lay aside immaturity, and live, and walk in the way of insight” reminding us that “those who seek the Lord lack nothing that is good”.

And yet if we take Jesus literally, trying to live solely by what God gives to us, we know it will fail because it’s not just about what God gives to us. It’s about us abiding in Christ and him abiding in us. It has to be reciprocal and mutual. This is no fad spiritual diet that will leave us craving for other things. If we fully enter into that mutual abiding- that communion- which we recognise and celebrate in the Eucharist, this continued repetition and reminder we experience feeds us, nourishes us – abides and grows within us, drawing us deeper into communion with God and also with each other.

We each have our personal, reciprocal relationship with God but we also have it with each other. Our faith is corporate. Jesus abides within and sustains us so we are able to carry out his will in the world as the body of Christ. To be our best means growing into the person God intends us to be.

Part of this includes engaging with the people and culture around us. My mission as a minister in the secular world means connecting with people who haven’t or wouldn’t step into a church. Knowing the latest fad diet or exercise regime is all part of this. Finding out what people thirst and hunger for- what sustains and nourishes them, what they connect with, and looking to see where God is in that, and where he can be for them.

Our meeting in communion here nourishes us to go out and take God with us, whoever we go, to whoever we meet. We have the experience of true food and true drink, and in the rich tradition of biblical hospitality it’s our job to go out and share it.

Mmmm....cake

The first blog post I wrote was about cake baking ministry- baking and sharing cake for the sole reason that it brings joy to others. Another 12 hour shift today so I've not been able to bake but we did have some good sharing moments with treats given to us by patients.
The generosity of present and former patients is overwhelming at this time of year as we're inundated by treats- even some really delicious home baking. It often serves as a poignant reminder of the good we do- knowing there are folk that are out there enjoying their lives because of the work our team does is pretty wonderful.

A feast of rich food

Today has been rather lovely. I attended the mid - week eucharist at my placement church, St Matthew's Stretford, this morning and followed that this afternoon by making lots of lovely preserves which I give as Christmas presents. There were more pressing matters- coursework and Sunday's sermon- but I just needed a day for me and for my annual ritual.
One of the readings we had this morning was from Isaiah chapter 25, part of which reads:
"...the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear".
A reminder that God has wonderful things in store for us and wants us to live an abundant life.
The LLLA task for today was thinking back over the year and thanking God for our "best bits". The times I am most thankful for are invariably the shared family times- cuddles, a takeaway, a film- or wine and food shared with friends- cheese, wine and boardgames on my birthday or a summer meal in the garden. It's during these simple times, spent in the company of those I love, that I've felt happiest. I'm thankful for so many other things such as my learning experiences and meaningful connections within my work but home, family, friends and sharing good things, in its simplicity, fills me with joy.

Be More Thankful

The task today was to thank God for our meals. The kids were really thankful for their cocopops this morning! I was a bit more of a failure than them as I kept forgetting until after I'd eaten.
When we sit down at the table all together we say a grace, but with the busyness of our lives this is a rare occurance. I'm at work four evenings a week and college on one so that leaves just two evenings to be together at home- one of which is swimming lesson night, after which our meal is usually very informal. This leaves just one potential evening for us all to sit at the table together.
After remembering to thank God for my food today I also prayed for the people who had been involved in producing, transporting and selling it. As I sipped my Earl Grey my thoughts remained on the tea pickers. Many earn as little as 12p an hour and there are strong links with the slave trade as girls are lured away from their low paid jobs by the empty promise of something better, or families who cannot afford to keep their children sell them.
I pray to God for a living wage for the tea pickers.

Be More Open

Try a new activity or food? Well a new activity whilst working a 10 hour shift is difficult, but new food I can do. I love food- almost all foods (hence why I have more in common with a chubby Titian red head than just my hair colour)- so to think of something I've not tried was quite a challenge.
The kids were easy- sushi. Faith loved it, Jacob not so much. Faith has started exploring new foods more and more, which is great.
Mike and I settled on a vindaloo- I like spice but much prefer flavour over heat so have never tried one. It was lovely...although maybe not something I'd have as a first choice again. We washed it down with birch sap. No really. My dear husband's home brew experimentations have lead him to spending the last couple of days tapping birch trees for the rising sap- something that can only be done 2 to 4 weeks of the year, as it turns bitter once the green leaves grow again. It was refreshing and lovely, and is meant to have remarkable health benefits. Definitely a new experience!

Isaiah 42:9
See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare