B & G

We had a wonderful time last night as our Sunday School class was in charge of preparing and serving at “Feed Your Faith,” the dinner that precedes our weekly mid-week activities. Various classes take turns serving the rest of the church body, and it is a great opportunity to have the privilege of serving. I remember that Jesus said in Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve” and Luke 22:27, “But I am among you as one who serves.” He set the example of what he wanted us to do (remember that foot washing thing, too).

It would seem to be the greater blessing to walk right in, sit right down, and have dinner prepared for us. Jesus also said in Luke 22:27, “For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table?” And yet, he explained that he came to serve, and I find that it is a far greater blessing to be a part of the serving group.

Our church, like all others, is made up of diverse individuals—adults, older and younger; kids, big ones down to newborns; couples; singles; farmers; social workers; plumbers; bankers; janitors; nurses; teachers; factory workers; managers; secretaries; construction workers; stay-at-home moms; those retired from their earlier vocations; and many others. What do we have in common? I would say two things that Jesus also talked about: 1) we love the Lord, and 2) we love each other.

Coming from so many different backgrounds to sit together in a room on Sunday morning, we have little opportunity to become a real body or to develop a sense of belonging and caring. However, flipping pancakes, stirring gravy, cooking 13 pounds of bacon, baking biscuits, setting up a dessert table, preparing the beverages, and washing dishes together as we bump into, walk over, and laugh with each other provides the opportunity to solidify relationships. That face across the room on Sunday becomes a friend and a brother or a sister on such a Wednesday evening.

You can probably guess from the preceding paragraph that we had breakfast food for dinner last night. It was wonderful! First, a few minutes before serving time, the dining room was almost empty. Then, almost as though the doors were opened by an usher, the room was full and the serving line was long. And, I should say, it stayed long. We knew the high schoolers and the junior highers would be back for more bacon and come back and come back and come back. But the adults, too, came back for seconds. We were concerned that the servers might go hungry, but it worked out just about right (although we could have used more bacon and a little more gravy).

Those who were served were very complimentary, and it was obvious from the sounds of chatting and laughing that the dinner was a special time of fellowship. The servers? We were tired and then came the time for clean-up. Much had been cleaned during the meal, but there are always dishes to do at the end. Clean-up may be an even greater expression of serving because there is no one to notice or compliment you.

It was a blessing for both those served and the servers. I think the latter group had more fun.