Stuck on You

After a week of bitter cold, the 32 degree temperature was a welcomed change as I prepared for Sunday worship on the Parkway. This was to be our first Sunday since Dave, a member of our volunteer clergy team, had moved to San Diego to begin a new call. Dennis was to preach, I was to preside over the sacrament of Holy Communion, Schaunel would lead us in prayer and Waverly would be our liturgist.

On the way to the Parkway Dennis called to say a pipe had frozen and burst and there was no way he could make it today.We needed a preacher, and it might even turn out to be me.

With an hour and a half to go before service, I walked around the Parkway, inviting folks and just catching up with people. One young man shared that he had been released from prison two weeks ago. He had been incarcerated  four years for selling drugs. He saw my Ecclesia cross and asked if he could get one. I placed mine on his neck with a blessing...the way we share crosses when they are requested. Later, that man would serve as our communion assistant at the service.

Soon others began to gather for worship. We set up our card table altar, cup plate, juice and wafers.

Waverly, arrived and I asked if he would be willing to preach today. "Really?" he asked. I showed him the text and it was the text that had actually moved Waverly to become involved with Welcome Church. We had a preacher!

The text, Luke 4:14-21, talked about Jesus teaching in the synagogue and quoting that beautiful text from Isaiah:
                    "The Spirit of the LORD is upon me
                    because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor;
                    He has sent me to proclain release to the captives
                    and recovery of sight to the blind
                    to let the oppressed go free
                    to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor."

Waverly went on to say that we were all anointed by God, each called to proclaim the good news to one another. It was Waverly's words that prompted me to ask the group, so how many of you know that you are anointed? Slowly the hands began to go up with many sharing how they were still struggling to know what it was they have been called to do with their lives. I could feel the hope, the possibility that maybe there was something more in store for each gathered around the table today.

I moved into the next part of our worshp together, the sharing of Holy Communion. That Jesus chose to be with us in the form of bread is especially meaningful on the street and for people who have known real hunger. Nearly everyone holds out their hands to receive the wafer and the juice, the body and blood of Jesus in our midst.

And then God added and exclamation point to the good news we had just shared.

As I neared the end of the circle, one of the last to receive the sacrament was a young boy. In his excitement to take the bread, he flipped up his hand and all the hosts came flying out of the small rubbermaid container that held them. Little wafers stamped with the cross were scattered all over the mud and the grass. For a moment everyone was silent staring at the hosts and not knowing if they should be "cleaned up." But no one moved.

Finally I broke the silence, inviting folks to see these hosts as a reminder of the sacred ground upon which we worshipped. That the park was made sacred because wherever we were, God was present among us. One person smiled and said, "Hey, the birds need Jesus, too." And everyone said, "Amen!"

The next morning, as I went to put on my boots, I saw that in addition to the mud and grass of the Parkway, one of the hosts had stuck to my boot.

"Well, Jesus," I thought, "Guess we're stuck with each other, no matter what!" and I left the house with a smile.