Con Pan y Vino
An old Spanish proverb says, “Con pan y vino se anda el camino.” Literally this phrase translates, “With bread and wine he walks the road.” There are those who will say that it means that everything seems better after a good meal. But on the various roads, trails, pathways, and tracks comprising the Camino de Santiago – the network of routes that lead pilgrims on foot, bicycle, and other means to Santiago de Compostela in the northwest corner of Spain – those pilgrims generally understand the proverb to refer specifically to the enterprise at hand: “with bread and wine one walks the Camino.”
Spain is a funny place, and pilgrims on the Camino are a funny breed of people who do not keep usual Spanish hours because the rhythms of the walk demand an adherence to the more American proverb coined by Benjamin Franklin that you need to be early to bed and early to rise. On the Camino you eat your evening meal many hours earlier than most Spaniards, and most restaurants, bars, and cafes in the small towns through which you pass will serve what is called a “menu del peregrinos,” a pilgrims’ menu, for maybe nine or ten Euros- it’s a simple selection of offerings that is available at the unconscionably early hours that pilgrims eat their suppers – around 7 pm or so. Almost universally in Spain, these menus include a choice of a bottle of mineral water or a big glass (or sometimes an entire bottle) of wine. I cannot recall a time in Spain that I ever opted for the water.
Water, however, is also a crucial ingredient to walking the Camino, and another feature of the journey is that you find fountains all along the way from which flows potable water. Usually these feuntes are located in the middle of villages or towns, and they are essential to the thirsty pilgrim who needs to stay hydrated. The fountains are, in this way, literally a source of life, and you would think there might be some proverb about them, or about water flowing to help the pilgrim on her way. But I have never come across such a proverb in my travels in Spain. No, it’s bread and wine, bread and wine that you need to walk the road to Santiago: con pan y vino se anda el camino.
Traveling on foot connects you to the biblical world and to the biblical narrative, and we hear in the famous passage from Luke’s Gospel this morning of three travelers on foot on the road to Emmaus, two of whom are disciples of Jesus. The important part of the story, however, does not take place on the road, it takes place at a table in someone’s home, or in some place where food is served. To my mind it is inconceivable that there was not wine on the table. In fact, I would expect that the easy availability of wine is a more historically accurate connection between the Camino de Santiago and the ancient world than the ready availability of drinking water from fountains. The moment of truth in this story comes when the stranger who was walking with the two disciples of Jesus reveals his true identity when “he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he vanished from their sight.”
An honest examination of this episode begs us to consider what it is truly meant to demonstrate. Most of the details of this story seem to convey the message that the risen Jesus is a mysterious figure, hard to recognize, reluctant to make himself known, and elusive once you are on to him. But, on the other hand, most of the details of the story provide the context for that one moment of discovery when Jesus takes the bread, blesses, and breaks it, and gives it to his followers. From opaque uncertainty and confusion comes great clarity in this simplest of acts, the breaking of bread.
A context of opaque uncertainty and confusion certainly prevails in many aspects of life these days, if you ask me, and certainly in the church. One of the strengths of the Episcopal Church is that we are able to admit this context, and we are able to embrace pilgrims of faith who experience opaque uncertainty and confusion in the world around us, and in our own lives. We see through a glass darkly.
We can assume that God knows how thoroughly affected we are by a context of opaque uncertainty and confusion. We can also assume that God knows that this condition and this context are not unique to our particular moment in history. And we can also assume that God knows that in such a context we have found him to be mysterious, hard to recognize, and elusive. Much of the biblical record attests to God’s deliberate intention to cultivate these characteristics.
Along comes Jesus – the mysterious, hard-to-recognize, and elusive Son of the mysterious, hard-to-recognize, and elusive Lord of the universe, who nevertheless walks beside his followers, who do not even know him when he is literally explaining to them who he is. Who knows how it makes Jesus feel to realize that now that he is risen from the dead he is obscured to his followers, like Mount Sinai wrapped in smoke to obscure the presence or God? Perhaps this is not a matter of choice for him, perhaps this is just how it must be, perhaps it is for our own good, as the ancient followers of Moses must have concluded that it was for their own good that they could not, should not, dare not approach the Presence of God behind the cloud on the mountain, or deign to behold him there. Some things lie beyond our ken. We don’t know why God is so often mysterious, hard-to-recognize, and elusive, and we probably never will.
But we know this: that when things must have been at their most opaque and confusing for the disciples of Jesus, when they couldn’t figure out what was going on, when they didn’t know if his resurrection was the stuff of rumor or redemption, when they couldn’t be certain yet that his shroud-wrapped body hadn’t simply been stolen from its tomb, when their emotions must have veered between wild hope that the best possible thing in the world had just happened and desperate fear that the worst possible events were now unfolding, just then, at a table, with nothing but a bit of bread (and, I am assuming, some wine) Jesus shows them the truth – that he is risen and alive, and among them!
Just so have his disciples gathered ever since through all manner of opaque uncertainty and confusion, when we cannot figure out what is going on, when we are not sure whether or not the resurrection is the stuff of rumor or redemption, when we feel uncertain about whether we can believe that his shroud-wrapped body hadn’t simply been taken from the tomb, when our emotions veer between wild hope that the best possible thing in the world has happened and desperate fear that the worst possible events are now unfolding… just so, con pan y vino se anda el camino.
The road to Emmaus leads us to one of the most perplexing and worrisome questions we face as believers: why is God so difficult to get to know? Why is God so mysterious, hard-to-recognize, and elusive? If God reveals himself to his people, why is he so ineffective at it? Why is God so hard to see, so hard to know, so hard to find?
A parish community like ours stands here on Locust Street to respond to those questions repeatedly as we repeat again and again that God does make himself known to us in this simplest of acts, the breaking of bread.
And our motto might as well be, con pan y vino se anda el camino. For it is central to our mission to repeat over and over again in the midst of opaque uncertainty and confusion that are raised to ever more complicated and artful heights in society around us, that Christ makes himself known to anyone who cares to join him at the table where the bread of his Body is taken, blessed, broken, and given, and where his Blood is poured out to be shared for a bleeding, suffering, and dying world.
The bakery in Cea
The little town of Cea in the Ourense district of the province of Galicia in Spain is famous for its bread, pan de Cea. When I was walking through Cea last summer, the Spaniards I was walking with insisted that we stop at a traditional bakery to buy a loaf and enjoy it with our supper, which we ate at a ridiculously early hour by Spanish standards, on a terrace outside the hostel where we were staying. There was no restaurant or café nearby, so we supplied our own wine.
I had been walking for thirty-seven days at that point, and with the same little group for at least a couple of weeks. In my photos I can see that there are five of us gathered around a table. I can see that there is a loaf of pan de Cea at the table that has been cut and shared. I can see that there is a bottle of wine on the table…
And I can also see that there is an additional seat at the table – a sixth chair, although there was no sixth person who ever appears in the photos, and I am quite sure that no one else joined us for supper that night.
Preparing for supper with bread and wine, and an extra chair...
Of course the chair was probably pulled over by one of us thinking that we needed it. But to see the bread and the wine there on the table, and to recall the fellowship, and even the scent of the recent rainfall that had sent us scurrying to take our drying clothes off the clothesline, I can’t help but wonder, looking at the scene now, whether that empty chair was there for a reason.
Was that empty chair there for the mysterious, hard-to-recognize, and elusive guest who is also the host at every table where his Name is honored? And was I even aware in the sharing of that bread and that wine that he was there among us, as I am now absolutely certain that he was?
Con pan y vino se anda el camino!
Preached by Fr. Sean Mullen
30 April 2017
Saint Mark’s Church, Philadelphia
Meeting Again for the First Time
And so we meet again. Last week this place was packed out with people, just brimming with bonnets and brass players, and here we are again, back for more. More tales of the resurrection, more facets to this fabulous story, more details of the disciples’ doings on Easter Day. This week, we meet again in this place to hear, as we do every year, the story of Easter and the disciple Thomas.
And because we do hear this Gospel every year on this Sunday, we’re all pretty familiar with the story. It’s Easter evening, and the disciples are hiding, huddled together in the same room, terrified that the next crosses will be for them. Suddenly, Jesus appears among them. He shows them his wounds, offers them peace, and heads off again into the ether, destination unknown. But Thomas missed it. He was out, somewhere, and when he returns and hears his friends’ wild tale, he is unconvinced. Let him show me the marks of the nails in his hands and the gouge in his side, and then I’ll believe that this man we saw killed is dead no longer.
And Jesus, apparently, hears him. Because a week later he comes back, appearing to the group just as he did before. Only this time, Thomas is there. He meets the risen Lord for the first time and is completely converted. He sees and believes; he exclaims, my Lord and my God! The doubter finally comes around – he’s in the right place at the right time, and he becomes the first to name Jesus as Lord and true God. And there you have the story.
But there is a question we encounter every time we hear this story, a question that remains unanswered, that nags at our hearts and minds. And that question is this: where did Thomas go? When Jesus appeared the first time, where was he? All the rest of the disciples were clinging to each other in fear in the darkness, trying not to imagine the feel of the nails in their own wrists, and Thomas was, what…just out? Running an errand? Visiting a friend? Stretching his legs, getting a bit of fresh air – what? Where did Thomas go?
Well, today, my friends, that question will be answered. Because I can tell you that on that first Easter Evening, Thomas wasn’t there because he had gone to catch Sunday night baseball on ESPN. It’s true. Thomas was out at his favorite Jerusalem sports bar, watching the Sunday night game. And why not? He’d had a rough weekend – the roughest – and he needed something to take his mind off of, well, everything. He’d been in the room with his brothers. He’d listened to them whine and worry, he’d smelled the fear that was pouring out of them like sweat. It reeked, and it freaked Thomas out, and so he thought to himself, where could I be other than this. And the only thought that popped into his sleep-deprived and fear-addled mind was the image of a beautiful, green, pristine baseball diamond. The sound of the announcers’ voices, overly-chummy and confident. The triumphant blare of the Sunday night baseball theme song, the surety of it, the ordinariness of it. He could see the shots of the pitchers warming up in the bullpen, the overhead views of the diamond, and suddenly he wanted all of it. The commentators, the replays, even the commercials sounded great to Thomas just then. And so he got up without a word and walked in the dark down the winding staircase, leaving his fellow disciples behind without a word. He stepped into the street, muttering to himself: Let us go to the bar in Jerusalem, that we may die with him. And so he, alone, went.
At the bar, it was quiet. It wasn’t a great matchup that night – the Phillies playing someone who was likely going to kick their butts – and with it’s being Passover, lots of people had chosen to stay home. After all, unleavened bar food is no great shakes. Thomas found a stool in the back corner, where he could see the screen…and the door, just in case. He ordered a pint and cautiously looked around as the barkeep rinsed the glass and pulled the tap. There were only a couple of other people there, most nursing their beers with eyes on the game, one digging through the bar mix for the salted peanuts. The bartender walked over, slapped down a cardboard coaster, set down his beer, smiled, and walked back to the other side of the bar to assume the classic bartender position of polishing a glass while watching the TV.
Thomas kept his eyes on the game, too. A sip from his beer now and then, but what he really wanted was the distraction. Strike one, ball two, popup, inning over. Just keep rolling out the pitches, just keep swinging that bat, just keep running those commercials. Just keep those thoughts from swirling around in his head. Just keep that grief and fear tamped down. Just keep playing, and let that keep him.
He wasn’t even sure who was winning when the man who had been digging for the peanuts looked up and grimaced.
"Another rough night for the Phils," he said to Thomas. Thomas grunted back, an assent without an encouragement for more conversation.
The man didn’t take the hint. "It’s brutal," he said. "Every year it’s something. No starters, no closers; young bats, old bats." He sighed. "You a Phillies fan?" he asked.
Thomas took a sip. "Not really – I just love the game."
"Yeah," the man said. "But I love the Phils, too, even though they break my heart. I guess that’s just being a fan. I keep showing up and watching. And praying." The man laughed. "And someday, they’ll win. It might take nineteen hundred and thirty odd years, but they’ll win."
"Mm," Thomas said again.
"It’s not easy," the man continued, offering Thomas a handful of peanuts. Thomas shook his head. The man popped them in his mouth and continued. "There are some years when I’ve just had enough. I think, this is it – they’re really dead now. There’s no way they can come back from this. No trade, no amazing up-and-comer, no miracle coaching switch is going to help them next year. They’ll be as dead in spring training as they are right now, and they’ll just keep dying, all season long." Thomas took another sip and kept his eyes on the game. The man sat up. "But then every year, I find myself back here, waiting and watching and – oh, I dunno – caring. Every year I find myself filled with…well…hope, wouldn’t you say?"
Thomas glanced over. He saw the man, still now, looking over at him with a twinkle in his eye. But Thomas wasn’t interested in twinkling eyes and philosophical barflies. "I suppose so," he said, directing his gaze back at the TV.
He felt the man lean in a little bit. "No, that’s it," the man said. "That’s what it is. It’s hope. It’s a little hope, but it’s hope. When it looks like there is no life in this team, and I’m still waiting and watching, that’s hope. It’s maybe even belief."
Thomas nodded absently. Watched the game. The man grew quiet and eventually disappeared. And when the last batter grounded out to the third baseman, Thomas went home. He walked up the staircase and into a whirlwind. His friends, all talking at the same time, telling this wild story. How could they be surprised that he wasn’t as excited as they were? At worst, his friends had gone mad, and at best, he had missed something miraculous. Of course he was tetchy. And so he blurted out the first thing he could think of.
"I’ll believe it when I see it," he said, knowing how much that made him sound like a six year old.
By the next Sunday, tempers had calmed down, and they were all together and mostly friendly. The room felt less stifling tonight, but again Thomas found his thoughts drifting to the ball field, the green green grass and the sweet sound of the crack of the bat on the ball. But this night, he decided to stay. Why not? I stay and I watch and I wait and… suddenly the voice of that man in the bar drifted into his mind… "and that’s hope." I suppose he was right. That is hope, that is the sign of belief that something good is coming, that something new can happen, that even if things look completely dead, there’s always a chance for new life.
And just at that moment, a breath of wind fluttered over his hair. He looked up and saw a man standing in the middle of the room. Where had he come from? The man looked over at him, and Thomas’s heart jumped as he found himself looking into a pair of eyes with a very, very familiar twinkle. Jesus smiled and the twinkle brightened. He came over to Thomas and leaned in so that only he could hear.
"I would have told you last week," Jesus said to him.
"But I couldn’t have heard it," Thomas interrupted.
Jesus smiled and leaned in. "But don’t you know that I am always there with you, that I will always find you? Wherever you go, wherever you flee to, wherever you find yourself, I am there, with you, to the end of the age. Have faith, my friend. Have hope. Look for new beginnings, new life, a new world. Do not doubt…"
"But believe," Thomas replied, grinning like a kid with a new glove on opening day. He reached out and grasped Jesus’ arm. "So happy to meet you again, for the first time. My Lord and my God."
Preached by Mother Erika Takacs
23 April 2017
Saint Mark's Church, Philadelphia