Walk #112: A Real Communion...

Joni and I took our walk in Paradise, California today.

Every other week we volunteer to canvass Mobile Home parks, giving away tickets for a free meal at our Episcopal Church. Three evenings a month we give free meals to people who need to eat. Providing camaraderie and nutrition to those who are struggling financially and often physically.

We knock on doors telling folks that they are welcome to come get a free meal. I always add: "with no strings attached". Joni rolled her eyes when I told one gentleman that there is "no holy roller crap" at the meal.

Patrons need not hear a sermon to attend. No testimonies on how Jesus saved them from depression, misfortune, financial disaster, warts, hives, secular humanism or any other perceived calamity. No altar calls. None of that. Just a free meal in a communal environment.

It works.

For me, this is part of the real Jesus Project. I believe "shared meals" goes back to the original Jesus. The real Jesus. His mission was one of free healing and free meals. This program was part of the Kingdom he was announcing.

All that other garbage came later. You know, the Jesus of the blood sacrifice. Atonement theology. The personal savior crap. The redeemer of the sins of the world. The Shared Communal Meal morphed into the sip of wine and bit of bread of an anemic communion ritual.

To participate fully in the Jesus Project, share a meal with the poor, disabled and those filled with despair. Share a meal with your family and friends. Open your hearts and wallets. "Do this in remembrance of me", Jesus would say.

It is a way of taking a walk with Jesus...