Taste and See

When [Jesus] was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. – Luke 24:30-31 (NRSV) 

Confession: I have a soft spot for candy corn. Not because it’s my favorite candy, but because it was my grandpa’s. Every year, when those bright orange bags appear in stores, I see him so clearly: filling the candy jar he always kept on the kitchen counter; offering a conspiratorial grin as he pours me a handful of those sweet, waxy triangles. When candy corn season arrives, my grieving heart rejoices, because I know that my grandpa will be especially near for weeks to come. 

Maybe there are times of the year when the veil between this world and the next grows thin. Maybe there are even thin places—like that dusty road on the way to Emmaus—where it’s easier for us to feel the presence of the ones we miss so much. And just maybe, as he broke bread that day with his grief-shattered friends, Jesus was teaching us something else as well: that the foods we share with one another in this lifetime hold the power to reunite us anywhere, anytime. 

Maybe it’s a tray of cookies fresh out of the oven that always takes you right back to her kitchen. Maybe it’s a cup of hot tea with honey that lets you hear the sound of their voice again, just when you need it most. Maybe it’s a pack of Lifesavers—the kind he used to buy at the corner store for you—that lets you see his face, clear as day.  

Or maybe it will be a simple loaf of bread, broken and shared, that lets you taste again the sweetest promise of all: “I am with you, always.”   

Prayer
For the ones who have fed us so well, and who teach us to trust in the promise of abiding love, thanks be to God.

About the Author
Rev. Yael Lachman is a UCC minister and artist who leads contemplative retreats, art adventures, and worship for all ages, most often in wild places. You can find Yael here.