This past week, I met a friend of mine for coffee. If you know me, this is ironic, since up
until about two months ago I was adamantly against drinking coffee unless I was
in a dire situation that required being alert in order to keep people
alive. Over the past few years, I have
probably stopped for coffee at a drive-thru three or four times in order to
stay awake while driving. Then I started
traveling more often, doing a lot more of the driving than I ever had in the
past. I discovered Starbucks mocha
frappuccinos, and you can probably guess how it went from there. I still refused to label myself as a coffee
drinker, but the truth is I was downing a frappucciono (or two) on, maybe, a
monthly basis. My trip to Portland, in
September, sent me over the edge. And,
suddenly, I'm a daily coffee drinker, although I admit that most people might
not say that what I'm drinking really qualifies, since I could probably drink
the creamer straight and be just as happy.
At any rate, it has come to my attention that being able to say to
someone, "Do you want to go out for coffee," actually opens up a lot
of opportunities for community. This
just gets funnier, though, because as it turns out, my coffee date friend isn't a coffee drinker! So, I get my mocha, and she gets her tea, and
we pretend that we're adults who drink real coffee.
Although she is not my very
oldest friend, there is something significant about meeting with someone who
has known you since you were ten years old.
Even though we have had stretches of life (sometimes long ones) during
which we have not talked or seen one another, there are no secrets with friends
like this. If you just look at each
other for more than a few minutes, it will all come spilling out. There aren't that many surprises, either, so
when I looked at her and blurted, "I really want to start taking my kids
to mass on a fairly regular basis," it was sort of funny when she choked
and tried not to spit her tea across the coffee shop. Shock value?
Me, for the win!
I then went on to desperately try to explain what it is to
be a sacramental Protestant. No, I am
never going to be Catholic. Yes, I
masquerade as Catholic and love the Catholic Church and can't get enough of the
Eucharist. My definition of sacramental
is probably a little different than hers, but it is so little. It is not that
different, which is why when our family participated in the Eucharist a couple
of days later I added her words about allowing the spirit of Jesus to enter us
in the bread and the wine (OK, juice. We
used juice.)
This has me thinking about how we might begin to better
connect with people of different traditions, all who love Jesus. I recognize that there are differences that
will prevent us from coming together as one universal Church. There are something like 30,000+
denominations! But I think there are
things we can do together, and I can't think of anything better with which to
start than the Eucharist. Eating
together, drinking together, sharing the table, allowing the spirit of Jesus to
enter us all, together, in the body and the blood. If there's something we need to get right, I
think this is it.
What are you drinking?
L.
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