Meals and Walks

Recently I have been blessed by two types of event which are special for bringing people together and helping them to get to know each other: meals and walks. One event involved both a walk and a meal. Some individuals and families from church, plus guests, went on a scenic though hilly seven-and-a-half mile walk in the Macclesfield area. We returned home and met again in the evening at the home of one of the couples for a meal. It was really great for getting to know each other better. There were both deep conversations and lighter moments.

The children's sponsored walk at our local school was not on such a scale. However, volunteering for duty on the walk, I found I had more opportunity to talk with both children and staff than usual!

In the culture of Bible times and places, meal fellowship was highly regarded. Inviting someone for a meal was generally a sign that you valued that person and wanted to deepen friendship with him or her. It was also perfectly acceptable to invite yourself in to someone's house for a meal! In Luke 19 verse 5 Jesus spots the diminutive Zacchaeus in a tree and calls out, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today". So touched was Zacchaeus that the Saviour wanted to be a guest in his humble house that he became a changed man from that instant.

The communion meal is meant to have similar significance. Jesus clearly intended that the Passover meal He celebrated with His disciples on the last night of His earthly existence would be unforgettable. The sharing of bread and wine took on deep meaning. They represented the body and the blood He would soon give up so that our fallen race could find forgiveness and new life in Him. The meal fellowship between Jesus Christ and His followers on earth would be repeated in heaven, transformed - "I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom", Matthew 26:29 ESV.

Over the years I've been disappointed to see how many churches make this Last Supper a formal thing to be given fancy names and argued over. If only we could simply see it as one of those places where God does business with the people He has made for Himself! There are other such places, of course. Acts of humble service are of the number. The preaching of God's word is surely the most important. Walking is there too … but more of that another time, perhaps!

But finally to go back to real Christian meal fellowship and communion. A song by Robert J. Stamps, "O, welcome all ye noble saints of old", has a repeated line, "God and man at table are sat down". To me that sums it all up.

Only one reign

As the Queen's Diamond Jubilee approaches, I find myself thinking about the passage of time. I was born in coronation year. George VI had died and Elizabeth II was officially reigning, though still five months away from being crowned (you can do the sums). I have therefore only "seen" the reign of one monarch. I have no idea whether I shall ever see another. In earthly terms, I am content to remain under the rule of this one.

Maybe someone will calculate how many people so far have been born and have died within the reign of this one Head of State. The story of many of them would be regarded as tragic, because to die under sixty is to live far less than the average lifespan today. When Queen Victoria's corresponding Jubilee occurred in 1897, many would have lived out the full expected span of their natural lives during the course of her reign.

In a way, you could say those who only live through one reign have missed out. Others can boast, "I have seen two (or three or four) monarchs come and go". But isn't it reassuring to have stability? When a king or queen dies, there is a bleak period, a time of uncertainty. At one time the government and all civil servants had to give up office and be re-elected or re-employed, though this is no longer the case.

It is good to know that in the spiritual realm there is eternal stability. There are no awkward gaps and questions about successors. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).

There is a little-known verse in Henry Francis Lyte's famous hymn "Praise, my soul, the King of heaven" which goes like this:

Frail as summer’s flower we flourish;

blows the wind, and it is gone;

but while mortals rise and perish

God endures unchanging on.

Praise Him! praise Him!

praise the high eternal One.

But if that makes us look disposable, ponder the previous more well-known verse:

Father-like, He tends and spares us,

well our feeble frame He knows;

in His hands He gently bears us,

rescues us from all our foes:

Praise Him! praise Him!

widely as His mercy flows.

Jesus, the unchanging One, showed love and care for those whom society thought of as throw-away people. Call out to Him today in faith and trust and He will turn His face to you.