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Breakfast on the Beach
Many years ago, Allan and I holidayed at a place that offered breakfast on the beach. They provided coolers so you could pack up your breakfast from a buffet and take it across the street to enjoy while the waves lapped up on the shore before
you.

I think of that experience every time the John 21 passage comes up in the lectionary, as it does this Sunday. Jesus, post-Easter, appears to the disciples, and after helping them with another failed fishing excursion, he offers them breakfast on the
beach. The whole scene is a bit bizarre, but when you think about it, it’s significant that Jesus would appear on the beach and once again call his close friends to share a meal with them. “Each time you do this, remember me.” And with that Jesus is with them always.

The sacraments of our faith offer a tangible experience of God – a physical symbol of something we cannot see. The
Council of Trent (16th century) described sacraments as “a visible sign of an invisible grace.” When we share communion together, the bread and the juice are real; we can see and taste them. We share the elements together as a visible sign of God’s presence in and among us. Once again we are called and fed by Christ (on the beach or elsewhere), and we are reminded that the presence of God with us in our community of faith.

We had good intentions to resume celebrating communion on the first Sunday of each month, but COVID, colds, and flu had other plans. We feel it is important to pay attention to the reality around us at the moment and have decided not to serve communion this Sunday. This sacrament is important to us and we will try again in June. In the meantime, let’s think about the many other ways that we can experience a visible sign of God’s invisible grace.
Peace and joy,
Nancy