Buttering bread

Last night I was back at the wild goose café which is a charity that feeds the homeless daily. It was a joy to be back and to see familiar faces again and some of them were covered with great smiles and gratitude for the free meal they received. One of the guys said to me, ‘so you’re back’. I returned his comment with a smile and asked him whether he wanted a drink. Before the evening began, there are things to prepare like buttering the bread, slicing the cakes, preparing or heating up the food and etc. I took the task of buttering the bread as I was failing in slicing up bagels or something similar. Buttering the bread brought a moment of reflection although at the time it was a simple reflection about my day. Throughout the evening was a continual reflection upon this simple duty of buttering bread.


Buttering the bread may seem to be something simple but it is something which adds extra taste for the homeless when they pick up their bread. Sometimes if there is not enough butter on the bread some would ask for more. The reason for this is that bread by itself is dry but edible but with butter it comes alive and excites the taste buds. So upon this reflection I thought that Jesus is the butter of my life although He is also the bread, so work with me on this analogy. Without Jesus or when I feel distant from him, I am dry, I am an empty cup and a sad and miserable soul. Truly I am and I do not exaggerate. Jesus is to me the flavour of my life and if I loose my flavour then I am nothing and can only ask of him that by his grace he may butter me again. Perhaps this next few days will be opportunities for Christ to butter my life, for Him to come and fill my soul so that my heart and mind may be set on the things above and not on the things of earth. 


Also during the evening, I asked one gentlemen how his day was. He wasn’t to optimistic but wished that it rained more because rain makes him happy. I chuckled and said in my heart that each to his own cup which is one of my favourite sayings which simply means that each person has the right to like or do what they want and I will not judge them for it or impose on them my own taste although this is to be done in context. Nevertheless upon his comment I wondered what made me happy and the answer although is multiple is summed up in this one man Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God. 


Looking at many who were homeless I tried to imagine their difficulties and problems and concluded that it must be higher than my own thus I reasoned with my soul that my problems are little and brings no reason for concern but rather entrust all of it to the Lord my God.


God is good and I’m a sinner but his love covers all of my sins and all of your sins if you choose to believe in him. He takes away all of the guilt although you may not feel it nevertheless it is objectively true. You are declared to be justified and counted righteous in His Holy sight.


My prayer for the homeless is that they may find a home in Jesus and in doing so they may progress heavenward. And if some of them are thieves that they would steal no longer but rather working hard so that they may bless others. If you are reading this I pray God may bless your soul and provide for your needs accordingly to His divine will and that Jesus may be the butter of your life.


Amen


K.Oni