day 12, lent 2009

well, the weekend is almost gone...

too fast -- as always...

worship at the tampa underground was awesome today, but sometimes [for me at least] communion is THE BEST...

brian did an awesome job inviting the family to the table today...

there is something about the sacrament -- receiving God's grace is such a tangible way -- the bread and the cup...

Jesus' body broken for my wholeness...

Jesus' life poured out for my fullness of life...

i love the eucharist -- the table of thanksgiving...

God knew what he was doing when he gave us this family celebration...

nouwen says: "when we break bread together, we reveal to each other the real story of Christ's life and our lives in him. Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to his friends...the breaking of the bread is the celebration, the making present, of Christ's story as well as our own. in the taking, blessing, breaking, and giving of the bread, the mystery of Christ's life is expressed in the most succinct way...when we eat the bread and drink wine together in memory of Christ, we become intimately related to his own compassionate life. in fact, we 'become' his life and are thus enabled to represent his life in our time and place."

i had a moment after church today where i felt like a representative of Jesus...

i thought of mr williams while the whole family [the boys are home on spring break]ate lunch today at rockin-sports in ybor city...

mr williams lives in a small hovel in one of the worst sections of inner city tampa. his room is about 8x12 [yes really] -- almost all his life happens there -- i bet the walls always seem to be closing in on him.

he has very little -- guess you could say he is poor...

his church delivers one covered dish meal per day -- monday through friday -- his only sustenance throughout the week...

i asked him the other day: "so what do you do for food over the weekend?"

mr williams looked at me, smiled and responded: "i waits for monday..."

that was 3 weeks ago...

every weekend since, God has brought him to my mind on saturday or sunday [even though i usually never think about hospice over the weekend]...

the first weekend was homemade beans and sausage that i cooked in the crockpot...

last weekend it was a big plate of BBQ from a family reunion over in plant city...

today it was a burger and fries from rockin-sports...

delivered with love every weekend -- what a joy for me...

he was so thrilled today, but he was not nearly as blessed as me...

i think this is what Jesus would have done today...

i am so pumped that he allowed me to be his representative to his beloved son mr williams over on 30th street in the 'hood!

blessings!

guy

good luck with monday -- ha! ha!