As promised, there is more food and drink for the final instalment of this four-week series. So far, on my placement with the chaplain at Hild Bede College, we’ve been eating in the dining room, drinking in the bar, and singing at choral evensong. Now we return to the chapel for the weekly Sunday morning service of Holy Communion.
The food and drink at Holy Communion were not quite as hearty as the Sunday roast which followed the service. But the bread and wine have rich significance for Christians. As we eat and drink we look back to the death of Christ, who sustains us and gives us life. And we look forward to the banquet that we will share in the kingdom of God. This week it was the final Sunday of the church year, the feast of Christ the King. So our focus was particularly on the future, and on what will happen when Christ comes to establish his eternal reign on the earth.
This week was also my first opportunity to preach during the placement. I always enjoy preparing sermons, though it takes a lot of work. It involves asking, ‘What is God saying to this group of people through these Bible readings through me in this place on this day in this service at this point in the liturgy?’ For me, this process of rooting the unchanging truths of the gospel into a particular context gets to the very heart of what it means to be an Anglican.