Zoe's Feast

Have you ever seen the film Babette's Feast?  It's the story of a French refugee arriving at the door of 2 elderly and austere Scandinavian spinsters to work as their housekeeper and cook.  Babette works quietly for years before winning 10000 francs in a French lottery and instead of using the money to move back to Paris she spends all of it on the creation of a sumptuous banquet to end all sumptuous banquests in order to show her appreciation for her hosts and their congregation. 

Well tonight I had the taste of a Babette in the making.  Her name is Zoe, and she is the 13 year old granddaughter of my friend Donna.  She spent 2 days preparing an amazing meal for us. We began with a lovely bruschetta appetizer and then sat down to the main meal of stuffed ravioli and bacon wrapped shrimp and spinach salad.  Did I mention that Zoe made the ravioli from scratch?  Did I also mention that she makes up her own recipes?

Then we finished with a dessert of raspberry mousse with our initials created in chocolate.  (Mine is sideways in the picture.)  All I kept thinking was "Holy Food for Holy People".....you could taste the love.  And it was definitely a Eucharistic moment.  Thank you Zoe for sharing your creative gift.  May your passion for preparing such feasts continue as you bless all those who partake of such a grace as this.

holy food for holy people

Our tiny church was filled to the brim today!  Love that!  Lots of new faces of Jesus to get to know!  Have I mentioned that one of my favorite parts of the Sunday Liturgy is the moment when our priest invites the congregation to come forward to the Lord's Table to receive the body and blood of Christ?  Here is a paraphrase of what Elizabeth+ said today (and on every Sunday.) 

"Everyone is invited to this table no matter where you are on your journey. 

Everyone.

There is no wrong way to do this. 

Please come forward and share this holy food for holy people." 

I never tire of this statement.  And ya don't have to ask me twice to the dinner table! I have to hold myself back from knocking everyone over so I can get up to that altar rail! (I think that's the 8 in me:)

Here's what Nora Gallagher has to say about it in her book "The Sacred Meal".....
"My own view is this: that once you decide that there are rules around who takes Communion and who doesn't, you can get to the point where taking Communion boils down to making sure a soul is freshly laundered and squeaky-clean before its body can take the bread and wine into its mouth.  This gets very close to manipulating God.  And once you begin to make rules, then there is no end to the rule making."  p.89