THE SUSTENANCE OF OUR LORD
As a dietitian, I was taught that food and fluid (sustenance) were necessary for life. The amount of food and fluid varied with the age, size, and variety of creature you were trying to sustain.
As Christians, we of Reformation try to sustain our fellow humans by following the tenet: “Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:40) We provide food for the “Yellow Bag” ministry; we provide breakfast for the indigent once a month; we invite the recent widow for Thanksgiving or Christmas; we donate pies and other food to the Women’s Crisis Center; we contribute to the victims of the tsunami, hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfires.
As humans, we have developed many devices to help feed those who are unable to feed themselves. We have baby bottles, syringes, straws, and adaptive equipment of all types.
Ultimately, we have used science to provide nutrients and fluids through tubes to sustain life for years when the patient is unable to ingest them by himself. Often this patient is not even conscious.
The patient has life. However, the patient cannot laugh, sing, dance, skip, and shout for joy. Only those sustained through the blood and wine, the sustenance of our Lord, can truly live and enjoy life.
Lord, help us truly appreciate the sustenance you provide and teach us to share it with others. Amen.
