SERMON
Daily bread & daily gratitude.
Dont tread on the bread!”
The first thing the world knew about Christians was that they ate together. At the beginning of each week they gathered, rich and poor, slaves and free, Jews and Gentiles, women and men – to celebrate the day the whole world changed and to toast to resurrection. While each community worshipped a bit differently, it appears most of the early congregations practiced communion by enjoying a full meal together. They remembered Jesus that way. Through food and with food. Through stories, laughter, tears, debate, discussion and cleanup.
The first thing many people think about when they mention the Danish Lutheran church, is that we eat together! Seated, sharing, laughing, talking and in community, which is what we have been missing as a church community through the time of Covid19.
There is a fine thread from the celebration of Communion here in church to the tables of coffee, lunch or dinner in the Hall. And with deep Danish humility and honesty we can only agree when the known cook and writer Julia Child once said: “People who love to eat are always the best people!”
Værsgo. Tak for mad. Velbekomme.
Be seated. Thanks for the food. You are welcome!
This is almost like a mantra that has been repeated over 3 happy days at the Danish Summer Camp.
We just had 16 joyful campers at the Danish Church Summer Camp. A camp filled with fairytales, friendships and….. food. Bountiful breakfast buffets of scrambles eggs, bacon, bagels, jam, Nutella, cereals, yogurt and milk. Lovely lunches of rye bread, white bread, leverpostej, eggs, tomatoes, salami, veggies and fruits. Delightful dinners of spaghetti and meal balls, chicken drumsticks and not to forget a Danish Delightful Meal of Frikadeller, potatoes, gravy and vegetables. And then in between some coffee, juice, cookies, snobrod at the beach, fruit and snacks…. Sprinkled with Værsgo, tak for mad, velbekomme.
Food is such an vital part of Church and thus church Camp. And the campers and volunteers have been spoiled. Thus, we began every meal with a prayer: giving thanks for the food and expressing our gratitude not only for the delicious food but even more for the ones who provided for us and served the food. Reminded or H.C. Andersen statement that all we need is “ Sunshine, a little flower and freedom.” And repeated by another Andersen, Benny, in his grace-poem: “ Giv mig idag mit brød at smøre….. Give me my daily bread to butter, soft and strength shall meet in my hands and the sunshine of the butter shall overcome the darkness of the bread. Let me touch what we live by: brown bread, yellow butter and love.”
Have you heard the story about the girl who trod on a load of bread so as not to soil her red shoes… and what misfortunes this brought upon her?
This story was told by Hans Christian Andersen, who along with food was another center theme of our Danish Summer Camp. We read well known and beloved fairytales like “The Emperor’s new clothes”, “The ugly duckling.” “The Princess on the pea” and “Thumbelina.” – but we did not read the story called “The girl who trod on the loaf.” Maybe because it is indeed one of those fairytales by HCA that can seem harsh, dark and scary, and that might be more suitable for adults than for kids.
The story about the girl who trod on the loaf, is the story about little Inger, a spoiled, self-centered and selfish little girl. Inger was proud and arrogant, - and she found pleasure in catching flies, to pull off their wings and make them into creeping insects. As she grew older, she became even worse instead of better, as HCA writes. But she was indeed very pretty, and that might have been her misfortune. “You will bring misfortune upon you,” said her own mother to her. “As a little child you often used to trample on my aprons, and when you are older, I fear you will trample on my heart!”
So, her parents sent her into the country to work for others and be of service. The people she stayed with and worked for treated her very well, dressed her well, and she looked extremely beautiful and became even more arrogant.
One day she is persuaded by the kind lady who she worked for to bring her old parents a freshly baked round loaf of bread. So, Inger went, but only because she wanted to show them how fine she had become.
So, Inger, put on her best dress and her fine new red shoes and lifted her skirt high and walked very carefully, so that her shoes would stay clean and neat. But when Inger came to where her path crossed over marshy ground with a stretch of brown watery mud, - she threw the bread, so she could use it as a steppingstone and get across with dry neat shoes.
“But “HCA wrote.” As she placed one foot on the bread and lifted the other up, the load sank in deeper and deeper, carrying her down until she disappeared entirely, and nothing could be seen but a black bubbling pool!”
But what became of her? … Inger descended into a scary pit filled with monstrous creatures of all kinds, the sort of creatures that inhabit the nightmares of children. As time passed, Inger turned into a sorry shell of herself, a cold statue of the sort that to the casual beholder contains no life at all and certainly no heart.
But Little Inger, despite her stony shell, was still able to hear life above ground, and one day she heard a small child, who upon listening to the sad story about Inger, - wept and pleaded for poor Inger.
“The little girl said in great distress: I’d give my doll house, if she could come up! It is so dreadful for poor Inger.” These words reached right down to Inger’s heart, and it seemed almost to make her good. For this was the very first time anyone had said “poor Inger”.
Decades passed, and then Inger heard an old woman on her deathbed. It was indeed the little girl, who was now an old woman on her deathbed. The Woman prays for Inger: “My Lord, have I not often, like poor Inger, trampled underfoot Your blessed gifts and counted them of no value? Have I not often been guilty of the sin of pride and vanity in my inmost heart? But in your mercy, you did not let me sink into the darkness, but did sustain me. O forsake me not in my final hour.” The old woman died, but her soul saw the stony poor Inger and misery. And at that dreadful sight the gentle soul burst into tears; in the kingdom of heaven itself the soul stood like a child weeping for the fate of Inger. The tears and prayers went as an echo down to the stony statue of Inger. Inger trembled and wept, and then more swiftly than a snowflake falling upon a children’s warm lips melts into a drop of water, the petrified figure of Inger evaporated, and a tiny bird arose and followed the ray up to the world of mankind.
So, Inger returned to earth in the form of a tiny gray bird. As a bird, she now cared for the other birds, making sure that she gathered crumbs and grain for all the others and never took more than a few bits for herself.
When Inger (as the bird) had collected and distributed as many grains of wheat and crumbs as the original loaf upon, she trod, - Inger finally was transformed into a graceful and beautiful white bird that soared and disappeared into the bright sunshine.
As HCA said: “Look there flies a sea swallow over the sea,” the children said as they saw the white bird. Now it seemed to dip into the water, now it rose into the bright sunshine, it gleamed in the air, it was not possible to see what became of it; they said that it flew straight into the sun.”
Now you know the story about the girl who trod on the bread, and you also know Our Lord’s Prayer: Give us today our daily bread. The fairytale about the girl who trod on the load of bread, it a stark reminder to all of us to remember Our Lords Prayer and the humble grateful prayer and gratitude for the daily bread.
Do we remember ? Do we sometimes tread on the bread?
When we throw out food that could be a meal for a needy neighbor?
When we take for granted that our fridge is filled and fresh every day?
When we live in constant overconsumption and selfishness?
When we get angry at the slow costumer in front of us at Starbucks?
When we pass the beggar at the fwy ramp?
When are we entrapped with more more more, better, better, better and don’t even see the ones who just need the crumps from our tables?
Maybe the emphasis on bread these summer Sundays, is a reminder to us about sustainability, community and humanity. Because we are indeed a church founded on food, fellowship and faith. How can we make a change and be a change? How can we avoid treading on the bread and instead sharing the bread for the ones who need it? Like modern fairytales there are indeed stories to be told and shared about sharing and caring:
· Some cities, like Detroit, are working hard to transform this pattern through urban agriculture and sustainable development. Detroit now has more than 1500 gardens and farms helping to feed, employ and provide accessible nutrition for those who have been living with food insecurity.
· Augustana Lutheran Church of Hyde Park, on the South Side of Chicago, installed a community fridge just outside its front doors. Anyone can leave food in the fridge or take food from it. Local restaurants, stores, and residents donate meals and fresh produce, and volunteers help keep the fridge clean. The congregation is working in partnership with the Love Fridge, a Chicago mutual aid group founded last year to help prevent food waste and reduce food insecurity.
· Or like the cover of the latest Costco Connection magazine read: Waste not. Getting access goods to needy global communities, not to landfills.
· Other grassroots efforts try to alleviate hunger, such as pop-up produce giveaways and expanded services from soup kitchens.
Not worrying about daily bread, is a blessing, but as Jesus pointed out so often, it also leaves us open to the temptation of a divided heart, a selfish mind, and cold soul. It might lead us to tread on the bread and thus tread on the very life of Bread, giving to us from Jesus – a bread and a blessing we are called to share.
Maybe this emphasis on bread these summer Sundays, it a reminder to us about the dailyness of bread and life. Not to take bread or life for granted, not to tread on bread or life.
“Man does not live by bread alone….” Jesus said.
No, we live by words, acts, love, hope, community, compassion…. We live by being church and acting like a church: compassionate, caring, sharing and grateful. Then our lives may be changed like little gray birds to white gleaming birds flying into the sun.
“ Giv mig idag mit brød at smøre.
Blødt og strengt skal mødes i mine hænder o
g smørrest solskin overvælde brødets mørke.
Lad mig røre ved det vi lever af
brunt brød, gult smø og kærlighed.”
Give me my daily bread to butter,
soft and strength shall meet in my hands
and the sunshine of the butter shall overcome
the darkness of the bread.
Let me touch what we live by:
brown bread, yellow butter and love.”
Amen.