“WHAT’S FOR DINNER?”
Matthew 14:13-21
The Rev. Ms. Laurie A. McNeill
Montclair, New Jersey
July 31, 2005
Sometimes we underestimate the import of our gestures. That which is ordinary
to us may mean the world to others. Sometimes it is the smallest of gestures that yields
the greatest impact. That which is second nature to us may be salvation for others.
Consider the way we talk on the telephone.
The need for a phone has become so essential that few people leave home without
one. Cell phones open the possibilities of being connected to another person wherever
we roam. We may reach out and touch someone or we may be reached. Placing and
receiving phone calls are simple gestures.
Imagine the import of those gestures when one has lived more than 4 score and 7
years. To have a friend call that has shared those years -- who knows what you know and
whom you knew -- makes all the difference in the world.
Mary McMillan and Dorothy Baldwin could tell us. Residents of Montclair for
almost their entire lives, their phone calls to each other are salvation.
Consider the way we drive our cars.
Gasoline priced at $2.50 a gallon is no deterrent to our determination to cruise
autonomously through our neighborhoods. A driver’s desire to reach the other side of
town merely involves buckling one’s seat belt, turning the ignition and hitting the road.
Hopping in the car and scooting up the street are simple gestures.
Imagine the import of those gestures when one is no longer able to hop into a car
or leave one’s house with ease. To have a friend drive over and pay a visit – one who has
shared vacations in previous summers and enjoys exchanging family news -- makes all
the difference in the world.
John Grover and Tom Buck could tell us. A drive between Montclair and West
Caldwell for a visit in one’s home, for these dear friends, is salvation.
Consider the way we prepare meals.
Our most ordinary rituals revolve around the 3 meals a day we ingest. Contents
of bags from the grocery store are sliced, cut, stirred and seasoned as directed by tried
and true recipes. We eat – day in and day out. Most of us have had the luxury of eating
every day of our lives. The preparation of breakfast, lunch and dinner are simple
gestures.
Imagine the import of those gestures when one has the responsibility of feeding a
family of 5, as well as relatives who have arrived from Long Island and Bermuda, to
grieve the death of one’s mother. To have church members prepare a meal – those with
whom one has worshiped, those whose children attend Sunday School with one’s own –
makes all the difference in the world.
Ann Arndt, Mary Ellen Gowin and Susan Yoo could tell us. The giving and
receiving of meals between those bound by baptism is salvation.
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