The Cross & Cleaver. Where Heaven Meets Earth: The Blessing and Dismissal … or … What’s for Dessert and Come Again, Please!
The first five minutes in a restaurant or church, the greeting of a server or the words of the opening prayer can set the tone for the whole dining and worship experience. Then there are endings which really matter, though often enough they confirm already foregone conclusion.
Audience and guests ought to be kept captive and be fed properly. From the beginning to the end, like a good book or a movie. We are coming to the end of this series, so let us wrap it up.
Proper Christian worship service should conclude with a blessing and a dismissal. Otherwise, otherwise the whole experience would feel rather incomplete. Just like a dinner without a dessert (or crackers and cheese if you are English) would also seem like missing an important part.
The chef, or cook, should make the dessert memorable and almost a natural extension of the main course and dinner’s overall theme. You can never go wrong with blueberry anything after beef, just like pork can always be followed by citrus and lavender flavours.
The blessing summarises the worship and asks God to provide for the community what it needs, to achieve what it was challenged to do or reflect upon. It also reassures the people that the love of God they hunger for is with them always, no matter what.
The dessert coats the dinner with sweetness, creaminess and, hopefully, a touch of “zing.” It should serve as a reminder of what was, and an enticement to come back again.
In hope that you will keep coming back to this column, let me share with you one of my favourite desserts, and one of my favourite blessings.
DESSERT
-In a non-stick pan arrange in circles peach wedges of eight. Cut as many as you need to fill the pan making sure they are not too tight but have the wedges overlap.
-Sprinkle with pinch of cinnamon, pinch of cayenne pepper and a very generous handful of brown sugar.
-Pour a cup of orange juice over the pan.
-Turn the heat to medium-high. Turn down when liquid starts bubbling and simmer for approx. 15 min. Drizzle with tablespoon of Grand Marnier or Frangelico if you like. Simmer another 5 min.
-Serve with scoop of chocolate or vanilla ice-cream.
BLESSING
May God bless you with discomfort.
Discomfort at easy answers, half truths,
and superficial relationships,
so that you may live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger.
Anger at injustice, oppression
and exploitation of people,
so that you may work
for justice, freedom and peace.
May God bless you with tears.
Tears to shed for those who suffer
from pain, rejection, starvation and war,
so that you may reach out your hand
to comfort them and turn their pain into joy.
May God bless you with foolishness.
Enough foolishness to believe
that you can make a difference in this world,
so that you can do
what others claim cannot be done.
And may the blessing of God,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
be with you now and forevermore.
AMEN
“A Non-traditional Blessing” written in 1985 by a Benedictine nun, Sister Ruth Marlene Fox.
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