When I was growing up on the farm in Minnesota, there was a regular schedule of activities. Someoccurred daily like farm chores or weekly like church and Sunday School, or even monthly. One of thosemonthly events was the meal served after Ladies’ Aid at church to which the husbands and childrenwould come to enjoy as well. Usually the meal was prepared by one or two of the women and includeda hot dish, sandwiches, salad, relishes and dessert. The men would come from their farms, becausethey knew they wouldn’t get fed at home that night, and the children would come after school to have awonderful meal and time to play together.
When the day for Ladies’ Aid came, many of us would board a different bus that would drop us at ourlittle country church. Sometimes the bus went right by the church, but other years we might have towalk the ½ mile or so from the closest corner. As soon as we opened the door to the church basement,the aromas of good food would come wafting up the stairs. We each had our favorites, like scallopedpotatoes and ham, or chicken and noodle hot dish with crumbled potato chips sprinkled on top. Wewere always hungry after school, so as soon as the women said it was ready, and we sang the tableprayer, we would crowd in line to pile our plates with food. It didn’t take long to finish the 1st plateful,and if we were allowed , we were back looking for more, and then finishing the meal with homemadepie or cake. My Mom’s cake was always my favorite, chocolate with chocolate frosting. Years later,when I would remember the taste, I asked, “Mom, what was in it?” “It’s simple,” she said, “It’s justflour, sugar, cocoa, eggs and lard, plus the usual additions. Today a lot of people would shudder, whenyou mention lard as an ingredient, but to this day many of the old-timers will Insist that nothing else isas good as those pies and cakes were.
After supper, the children would go outside to play games like hide and seek, tag, or even a gameof work-up. The time passed quickly, and soon we were on our way home to do chores, and thenhomework. The day of Ladies’ Aid had come and gone, and we enjoyed all that it brought to our lives.
Sometimes I wonder if the heavenly banquet to come will be like the meal at Ladies’ Aid? Will thefood delight the eye and taste so amazing that you will be thrilled to eat for all of eternal life? Willthe chocolate cake melt in your mouth, moist and luxurious, so you gasp in delight? Will the laughterand the tinkle of glasses mix with the sound of the men come in from the fields, women enjoying thetogetherness, and children filled with anticipation of the joy of play? As much as I would like to thinkthat the “feast to come” will be like a meal after Ladies’ Aid in a small country church in southernMinnesota, I also realize that this is only a tiny slice of what is yet to be, for as much as I can see thewonder of a gathering of a few, the feast of the Lamb will include a much broader spectrum of thenations and races of the world. Not only will there be people from the East Delavan Lutheran Churchbasement of the 1950’s but those who gather will speak Swahili, or Japanese, or Italian, or Hindi, orInuit, or Farsi, or a host of other tongues. People from every place the gospel has touched will beincluded in the grand gathering, where no matter the language, all will be understood. The chaoticvoices are blended into a wonderful chorus of praise and celebration of the Lord who makes all thingsnew.
The food will likewise be drawn from all cultures, not just hot dish, but noodles and curry, lobsterand walrus, red beans and rice, roast pig and poi, and a host of other foods, a grand buffet of the meal
for those who have been washed clean in the blood of the Lamb.
So even now, as my mind is drawn back to that church basement in a little country church in ruralFaribault County, Minnesota, I am also stirred to anticipate the Feast of Victory of the Lord. I knowwhat has been, but I cannot fully know what is yet to be. But this I do know, it will be so wondrous thateven the kings of this earth will be astonished at what is revealed. It is a day whose anticipation setsmy senses on full alert, as I wait for God what surprises are in store for the children of God. Hold on toyour hats! A new day is coming, and from what scripture says, it will be glorious! With God’s grace, I look forward to the wonder of that day. Look to the coming day in amazement. See the Lord’s Feast to come.
Pastor Dale
