Holy Bread, Wonder Bread: part three

(This is part three of a three part series. Part One can be found here. Part Two can be found here.) John 6:56-69 Between 1906 and the start of World War II there were over 3,000,000 diagnosed cases of Pellagra in the USA, resulting in over 100,000 deaths. Scientists were baffled, until one […]

Holy Bread, Wonder Bread: part two

(This is part two of a three part series. Part One can be found here. Part Three can be found here.) John 6:51-58 Starting around the turn of the twentieth century, there was an epidemic of a disease called pellagra. Mostly forgotten now, it was an epidemic that lasted roughly 40 years. The […]

Holy Bread, Wonder Bread; part one

(This is part one of a three part series. Part two can be found here. Part three can be found here.) John 6:35, 41-51 Growing up, I would estimate we ate cornbread with at least four meals a week. I bet I ate more cornbread than actual bread. On special occasions we would […]

How to Talk About the Environment in Your Church

I hate being called an environmentalist. I avoid using the word “environment.” The phrase “climate change” is not in my lexicon. At least at church, that is. Why? Because I have found that these and others like them elicit a knee jerk response from a good number of people in my church. When I’m labeled […]

At Jesus’ Table: Holy Saturday, Eggs

So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. Matthew 27:59-60 Tomorrow is Easter. Tonight the Easter Bunny visits, dropping […]

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 […]