Christian Counseling Service -- Devotions

Slow takes time

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Luke 2:16-20
The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem ... and made known the message they had been told about the child. All who heard it were amazed. Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God.

Margaret made a marvelous shepherd's pie for me. Every bite dripped with gravy. Potatoes laced with cheese turned crispy in the hot oven and crunched between my teeth. Hot turkey and corn and peas and potatoes, flavored with chicken stock and several spices, tasted ... well, like heaven. Shepherd's pie is an ultimate comfort food. Yes!

Jamie Oliver wrote about comfort food last year. His four kids silently gorged themselves on his shepherd's pie. Their eyes said all that needed to be said. Thank you. When I eat this I am happy. I am safe. I am warm and well-fed.

Of course, when you think about it, "shepherd's" pie might be made from lamb. The shepherds herd sheep, right? On the hillside outside Bethlehem, they found ways to create comfort with food, this pie their best of all.

It does take time to make this pie, especially if you start with the live lamb (!). The fire must not go out while you're working. The vegetables must be found and harvested and softened.

When it comes off the fire, the pie has to cool a little. Not too much. Slather a large piece onto your plate, pick up your fork, and ... wait. Notice how the aroma slips into your nose and slides on through, and settles down at the bottom of your breath. A hot cloud rises in the air. Take a bite.

The comfort comes now, when all the tastes mingle into one, and you realize that one bite is all you need to be in heaven. And then ... there are more.

Slow food ... slow church ... slow life ... slow takes time. And our joy is that the time slows down. A moment is all you need to experience eternity. God is not present for me in the past, nor in the future, but only now, in the sacrament of the present moment. We together are here, now. Be.

Father, you told Moses, to tell the priests, to tell the people of his love. Those precious words came down to us. And your blessing too. Thank you, Father.
    The Lord bless you and keep you
   The Lord let his face shine upon you
   The Lord lift up his countenance upon you (smiling)
      And give you Peace.
          (from Numbers 6)

Devotions Archive

Slow takes time

Thursday, January 1, 2015