The bread of life doesn’t come buttered with pickles…

…or in a neatly wrapped blog post.

I was blessed and convicted by the words of my pastor yesterday.  Her sermon bore a hole into my heart and the powerful way she spoke of the bread of life has expanded my thinking, like so much yeast in the flour.    I’m not gonna go on and on with my interpretation of her words for I want you to hold them in your heart and allow them to work in you as they were meant to do.  But here’s a tiny exeprt, an invitation to come in…

“It’s been a sad week really, for me, for many of us, for America, for the church.  A harsh reality of the many ways we choose to polarize and situate ourselves far from each other – and from God.  It’s hard to imagine that anyone was sharing in the Bread of Life on Wednesday; the support Chick-fil-a values day OR the support gay marriage day.  It’s hard to reconcile how any of this conversation, controversy, contempt can lead to life. And yes, no doubt it is complicated.  It always is.  When ever we’re at odds with each other, what ever we’re at odd with each other about.  And even more so is the bread of life!  is it just a conversation about theology – what we believe?  Or is it a conversation about servanthood, how we believe and live it out?  You know, it’s not enough to feed hungry people on Saturday and not give a flip how folks are doing on Tuesday. And yet, to simply pray leaves a lot of people feeling quite hungry and empty.  It’s complicated.  Jesus knew that – Jesus knows that. ”

 

KUCC Sermon 8.5.2012 by Kirkwood UCC

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Susannah Davis  is the founding pastor of Kirkwood United Church of Christ in Atlanta, GA.  Susannah was ordained in the United Methodist Church and served churches and agencies in the North Georgia Conference for the following 12 years before receiving the call to serve in the United Church of Christ in 2006. Five years later, Susannah continues to lead Kirkwood UCC in worship, service and commitment to the teachings of Jesus Christ. She promotes meaningful worship that moves people toward a deeper relationship with God and others. She, her partner Susan, and their dog Louise live and serve in the community of Kirkwood.