Sermon preached by

The Rev. Fulton Porter,III at St. Thomas Church, Chicago

Maundy Thursday 4/9/09

 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Soul Food

My grandmother was a very good cook.  I can hardly remember a day of my life as I grew up when she did not cook several meals a day.  In fact, my most vivid memories of her are when she was stirring about in the kitchen, singing to herself and creating the smells of delectable delights, which I have come to miss greatly.  She cooked and created in her culinary factory so many things which my family enjoyed eating, but took for granted.  She cooked collard greens and snap beans and stuffed bell peppers and blackberry cobbler and her buttermilk cornbread, which she made every day from scratch.  Somehow, she never needed to measure.  She knew just the right amount of all of the ingredients, which she used in all of her dishes.

Each dish contained a part of her very being.  Each dish, which she presented to us, was a testimony of her love for us and her sacrifice for us.  Her body bore the scars of the chopping knives and the hot grease, which she endured so that her family could be nourished.  I remember how the sweat would pour from her brow in the summertime as she stood presiding over the pots on the stove in order to get us fed.  And we would eat until we were content, until we wanted no more.  And we left the table restored and renewed to face the challenges of another day. 

Some might call my grandmother’s cooking Soul Food, for indeed in every bite she had poured a measure of her very soul, her very life into it.  In every bite, there was the essence of her faith and the sweet smell of her struggle.  And those collard greens were not mere collard greens but they were her very sweat and tears and joys and hopes for us all.  In every bite, we somehow knew that we were loved and with each chew we were incorporating a part on my grandmother into our very bones.  And even today, years after her death, she lives on in me.

It is Maundy Thursday.  It is the day that we commemorate Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples prior to his crucifixion.  It is the day on which He did mandate and institute the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.  Christ Jesus, that one who fried fish on the banks of the Sea of Galilee;  the one who ate with publicans and sinners; Christ Jesus, who fixed fish and fed the five thousand; this Christ Jesus called his disciples to the table to share a meal with him one last time.  A meal which he had prepared in order to give us something tangible of himself and to leave Christians throughout eternity with a little soul food:  Food that feeds our souls and sustains us, Food that unites our soul to God, Food that unites us to one another as children of God.  There are no big I’s and little you’s at the altar rail. We all are on equal footing sharing acommon bread and a common cup.  No matter what our status in life, from prince to pauper, banker to beggar, Christ, through the Holy Eucharist feeds us all the same.

Jesus had to give his all to this meal, for the ingredients were sacred and no less than his own body and blood, which he sacrificed for our very souls.  “This in my body, which is given for you. This is my blood which is poured out for you.”  The saying is true, that in order for us to have a good meal, something must die.  And so, beloved, Christ died for us so that our souls could be nourished.

And so, dear friends, what is our responsibility after being feed by such a marvelous meal?  I submit to you that we then must go and tell it everywhere we go!  When we come upon those hungry souls suffering from fear and loneliness, we must invite them to the table.  We’ve got to tell it, when we see those souls in sadness and abandonment.  We’ve got to let them know that they are welcome at the table where grace and solace can be found.  We’ve got to tell it everywhere we go, that a soul food feast has been prepared for us!

The world lies in the grip of the power of evil.  The world does not recognize the light that shines in the darkness.  But we, who live in the midst of the world, live with the knowledge that Jesus is alive and dwells within us and that he has overcome the power of death and opened up the way of glory.

We are the people who come together around the table and do what he did in memory of him.  We are the people who must keep telling each other stories of hope and together, we must go out to care for our fellow human beings, not pretending to solve all problems but just to bring a smile to a dying man; Peace to one imprisoned; Food to one who is hungry and a little hope to a lonely child.

We will approach the altar in a few moments for some Soul Food.  And then, let us go from this place strengthened to tell the story of the one who prepared the meal.  Let us tell the story of the love of Jesus.  Let us proclaim in the words of that familiar hymn:

I love to tell the story

Of unseen things above

Of Jesus and his glory

Of Jesus and his love.

I love to tell the story,

Because I know it’s true.

It satisfies my longings, as nothing else would do.

I love to tell the story, ‘twill be my theme in glory.

To tell the old, old story of Jesus and his love.

Amen