Bread for the Journey

Tonight I began the fermentation for injera, a soft flatbread eaten throughout the Horn of Africa, made with teff flour and wild yeast. Teff, an ancient cereal grain native to Ethiopia, and a type of Lovegrass, is among the world’s tiniest grains. Because teff seeds are so minuscule, I used a spice grinder rather than a grain mill to produce this flour. After four or five days, giving the batter time to ferment and deepen in flavor, I’ll cook the flatbread. The wild yeast reminds me of the Holy Spirit surrounding us everywhere. Jesus, like the tiny teff seeds growing into nourishment for many. God, the Lovegrass; the beauty of creation.

I found a cicada shell on our stone wall. My friends and I used to hunt for these, collecting them from tree trunks and gently pulling them off the bark. A friend of mine has been hiding under false layers for many years. I am witnessing his transformation as he is just now shedding the old self and becoming who he’s really meant to be. I was in a similar place once, and the process of shedding left me feeling extremely fragile. It’s a vulnerable place, but necessary for new growth. I am grateful for those who encouraged, supported, and waited with me until my wings could fly again.

Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. –John 12:24

I’ve never been good at trivia. However, when attending trivia nights, I’m usually the one knowing the few odd answers that stump others. These would likely be in the categories of music (classical), nursery rhymes, or baking. But from my inexperienced trivial memory, those questions occur just once or twice, if ever.

Jesus!

Yes, Jesus is the answer. A friend told me a story about teaching seminary students. When they struggled with the answer to a question, many times the answer was right before them: Jesus. A group of us discussed this after church today. If we have fear or grief in our lives, maybe feeling lost about what to do, sometimes we try to pull through with our own strength. We may forget that Jesus is always here and ready to help carry us. If I don’t know where to turn, I have usually found an answer or felt led in a specific direction, after turning to God in prayer. I don’t even need words. God already knows what I’m asking. I can be assured that God is listening to my voice, and I am certain that I need to listen to God’s voice. That’s the answer!

Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true Word; I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord; thou my soul’s shelter, and thou my high tower; raise thou me heavenward, O Power of my power. – Irish poem; trans. Mary Byrne, 1905; vers. Eleanor Hull, 1912

Our son is in Denmark, preparing to begin a new school year. Last week, while staying with his aunt and uncle in Sweden, he excitedly told us they had blueberry soup for dinner (Norwegian Blaebaer Suppe). Wow! I’ve never tried this before, but I had fresh blueberries on reserve. So tonight, my husband away on a business trip, I decided to make blueberry soup for just me, myself and I. Finding a recipe in my blueberry cookbook from Michigan, I thought, “How could this not taste good!” The kitchen smelled heavenly as the blueberries simmered. The berries were strained so those pesky blue skins wouldn’t get stuck in my teeth. I was tempted to dye something in that beautiful blue juice, but it all went into the soup as the recipe called for.

After enjoying it warm, then trying it later as a cold soup, I laughed at my blue teeth and tongue, reminiscent of childhood “snow cone mouth.” Maybe this is why it’s not served at many restaurants. If you notice my blue teeth in church, please chuckle and be reminded of the goodness and bounty that our Lord provides for us to enjoy! I’ll try to smile extra big.

When the weight of grief is too difficult to bear, the love of those surrounding us can slowly lift each rock, one by one, day by day. I am not grieving, but others around me are, and I weep with them. My heart fills with God’s love so I can walk alongside and help carry these stones away. But there are so many!

Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD. Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications! I wait for the LORD. My soul waits, and in his word I hope. For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem. – from Psalm 130

One of my friends, a physician, mentioned how meaningful it is for her to provide physical, healing touch in a world where positive human touch is less frequently experienced. By being present, listening and caring, we can be God’s healing touch in a world filled with grief. God gives us the strength we need to lift each other’s burdens while he enfolds us all in his loving arms.

We come to you for healing, Lord, of body, mind, and soul, and pray that by your Spirit’s touch we may again be whole.

As once you walked through ancient streets and reached toward those in pain, we know you come among us still with power to heal again.

You touch us through physicians’ skills, through nurses’ gifts of care, and through the love of faithful friends who lift our lives in prayer.

Through nights of pain and wakefulness, through days when strength runs low, grant us your gift of patience, Lord, your calming peace to know.

We come to you, O loving Lord, in our distress and pain, in trust that through our nights and days your grace will heal, sustain. ~ Herman G. Stuempfle Jr.

Classic rock music was playing over the sound system as I waited for an appointment last month. While listening to the lyrics, I realized how many words could be replaced with God as the subject of love. If I pay attention with more intention, what other parts of my life might be shed and replaced with God’s love?

Since when did googling acorns bring up investment apps? Anyway, back on focus….I picked up some fallen acorns today from the driveway. First taste of fall! Actually, I do wonder what an acorn tastes like, so I just ordered some acorn flour intending to make bread. I initially thought I’d crack the shells and grind the acorn meat, but I read that it needs to be leached with water to remove the tannins. I also want to make sure everyone who samples the bread stays safe since I am not an experienced forager; just curious.

I once observed a squirrel burying an acorn in my patio planter. Since acorn tannins taste bitter, the smart squirrel may wait to consume some of them, allowing sufficient time for the groundwater to leach out the tannins. Once considered a dietary staple in some cultures, acorns have mostly been replaced by grains, so their importance has greatly diminished. I will attempt to bring some life back into the neglected acorn by introducing its taste to others. What other parts of my life are neglected and in need of new life? Maybe if I begin to name them, forage and share these discoveries with others, new life will be created.

I was handling a large sheet of glittery fabric today in the choir robing room, and now I have sparkles all over my hair, clothes…pretty much everywhere. The minuscule specks unexpectedly caught my eye all day long, as if God was winking at me. Glitter can be annoying unless viewed with child-like wonder. Once I was doing a project with students during Advent, and I’m pretty sure most of the glitter spilled. I didn’t realize how much was on the carpet until we turned off the overhead lights and turned on the Christmas lights. The whole floor looked awash in stars. We silently stood in awe and decided not to vacuum because it was such a special effect. Perhaps next time we sing in worship, a choir robe or two will sparkle just a tad; bringing us a bit of unexpected “God winking” joy.

I followed a golden moon sliver on my way home tonight. It was so beautiful and made me think of how God’s beauty doesn’t have to shine brightly. It can be just a sliver of light. It’s also pretty cool to know there is a hidden light, God’s beauty that’s with us everywhere….we just don’t notice it all the time…like the shaded side of the moon.

For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies, for the love which from our birth over and around us lies: Lord of all, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise. ~Folliott Sandford Pierpoint, 1864

Richard Rohr says, “The Navajo people see the world through the lens of all the goodness to be found through harmony, balance, beauty, and blessing.” The following is a well-known Navajo prayer. Reciting it may help us “open our hearts, minds, and bodies to the divine image.”

In beauty I walk
With beauty before me I walk
With beauty behind me I walk
With beauty above me I walk
With beauty around me I walk
It has become beauty again
It has become beauty again
It has become beauty again
It has become beauty again

We welcome Interfaith Partnership of Greater St. Louis to our church community! Their offices now reside in Ladue Chapel’s newly renovated cottage. Today they held an open house after worship so we could meet them and see the work our members did to create a comfortable environment for our new neighbors. “As communities of faith, we agree to differ, promise to love, and unite to serve,” is what their motto says. I am eager to learn from them and, as their mission statement reads, to “deepen my understanding, respect and appreciation among all persons across lines of religious difference.” I look forward to discovering and celebrating our unity in diversity.

I have glimpsed the same shining thread running throughout the tapestry of our perennial wisdom legacy and appreciated the ways in which we sing the one song of the human heart. It has become clear that while all the world’s religions cannot and must not be reduced to one truth, their core teachings are unifying; they are all calling us to the truth of our essential oneness. This unity in diversity is a cause for celebration. ~Mirabai Starr