At Jesus’ Table: Good Friday, Wine

Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.Matthew 26:27-28 Wine is used to bless things. Part of that is the mysteriousness of its […]

At Jesus’ Table: Maundy Thursday, Bread

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.” Matthew 26:26 What does it mean to eat Jesus? The consumption of bread that is the body of Jesus Christ is probably the most […]

At Jesus’ Table: Wednesday, Lamb

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb […]

At Jesus’ Table: Tuesday, Bitter Herbs

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the Israelites, saying: Anyone of you or your descendants who is unclean through touching a corpse, or is away on a journey, shall still keep the passover to the Lord. In the second month on the fourteenth day, at twilight, they shall keep it; they shall eat it […]

At Jesus’ Table: Monday, Honey

I declare that I will bring you up out of the misery of Egypt, to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.’ Exodus 3:17 For a people living in slavery, a people who had to work harder and harder […]

At Jesus’ Table: Introduction

For past Holy Weeks I prepared daily devotions for my congregations. Some of these have been shared online, including this series. What follows is the introduction to “At Jesus’ Table.” My favorite description of Jesus is the accusation the Pharisees made about him in Luke 15:2, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Yes. […]

What Have You Been Reading?: The Supper of the Lamb

“O Lord, refresh our sensibilities. Give us this day our daily taste. Restore to us soups that spoons will not sink in, and sauces which are never the same twice. Raise up among us stews with more gravy than we have bread to blot it with, and casseroles that put starch and substance in […]

The Giving Garden

On the first Saturday of March, we planted our spring crops at Selah Community Garden of Center UMC: carrots, lettuce, spinach, potatoes, broccoli, cabbage, and more. This is our second year, and just like last year, there was beautiful weather in the weeks leading up to our kick-off. Then things got cold. Again. Just like […]

Recipe: Sausage Balls

This Tuesday starts one of the highest, holiest holidays in my family: the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament. Nothing elicits the mania of eastern North Carolina natives like ACC basketball. I remember a TV being wheeled into the classroom and the games being on while we did worksheets in school. It has always been a big […]

The Resurrection of Compost

“But someone will ask, ‘How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?’ Fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And as for what you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or some other […]