Taste and See

And now for something completely different.

I'm in charge of the children's moment at my church tomorrow. As usual, all I know is the title of the sermon and the scripture being used. The scripture is Matthew 26: 26-30--

²⁶ While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” ²⁷ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; ²⁸ for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹ I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
³⁰ When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Title of the sermon: "Taste and See, The Lord is Good." Nothing obviously out of the ordinary here. It's the first Sunday of the month, so we have Communion. "Taste and see" is a common enough Communion message (there's even a hymn about it!).

Oddly enough, though, the title of the sermon--that standard Communion refrain--isn't in the scripture. It's not in the Gospels or the Christian Testament at all. It's from Psalm 34:8--

 O taste and see that the Lord is good;
    happy are those who take refuge in him.

The Psalm is attributed to David, "when he feigned madness before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away." (Or, as the Message puts it, "when he outwitted Abimelech and got away"). Things get complicated here. The book of 1 Samuel 21-22 describes a very different setup. There David is fleeing from Saul, and Ahimelech (note the spelling difference) gives him some food and shelter. David flees Ahimelech (after getting Goliath's old sword), is spotted by the king of Gath, and then feigns madness to get away from him. Saul hears about Ahimelech's assistance and orders the priest and his family slaughtered. Only one son of Ahimelech gets away.

That's...a lot of confusing back-story. There's not a lot of consensus that I could find about how to rectify this tension (maybe Abimelech is a generic name for Gath/Philistine kings?).

In any case, my pastor can parse that out in her sermon. For my purposes--two to four minutes with the young ones--I think I'll focus on something simpler.

What should the Lord taste like? For Methodists, we use some combo of grape juice and bread. Sometimes the juice is red, sometimes blue. (Methodists generally don't use wine.) Sometimes the bread is good, rich wheat bread. Sometimes Hawaiian bread. Sometimes sourdough. Sometimes gluten-free. Or it's a hard cracker, an unleavened crunch. We also occasionally use those tasteless wafers preferred in Catholic churches.

Perhaps I'll have a collection of different juices and breads for kids to see, smell, and sample.

The point, though, is in the rest of the Psalm, which is not (of course) about Christian communion but about how God provides refuge and safety. Consider Psalm 34: 17-19

Is anyone crying for help? God is listening,
ready to rescue you.
If your heart is broken, you’ll find God right there;
if you’re kicked in the gut, he’ll help you catch your breath.
Disciples so often get into trouble;
still, God is there every time.

So, what does the Lord taste like? What should our Communion taste like? What should our church taste like, feel like, sound like?

It should taste like "I love you." It should taste like "You're welcome here." It should taste like "I got you. You're safe." 

Taste and see. The Lord is good.

Help us, God, to be as tasty as you are.

More tomorrow,

JF