Tasting the Memory

            My Grandma made the *best* lemon meringue pie. She always made it from the package in the blue box, and added extra lemon juice. A LOT of extra lemon juice. I loved it! The crust wasn't my thing, and the meringue didn't excite me - but oh that lemon.

            And even though she told me her secret of the extra lemon, and my practice to avoid pre-made boxed kits, every once in a while I make that lemon dessert. I can never quite make it taste the same way, however - because the flavour I'm going for is my memory. It's a trip to a different time and place, with happy remembrances and heart-warming emotions.

            I still make that lemon pie, though (crustless now!), from the box, and try to re-create what my grandma did so effortlessly. And while I know it will never taste the same, it's close enough to bring a smile to my face (when not puckering from the lemon!)

            Our parish celebrated the Eucharist last Sunday, for the first time since lockdown in March. It was the same bread, but no wine... we were sitting apart... I was covered in PPE... when we did eat the bread it tasted like the requisite hand sanitizer. But... it was the bread! It was communion! Wasn't it?

            Well, yes. Definitely. The real presence of Christ was there. But... for us, we were transported back to a different time and place, where that bread had a different feel to it. A time when we could share hugs and handshakes... where we didn't all have facemasks... where our trip to the altar was side by side, not 2m apart.

            It was the same - but different. And as we journey forward, I expect it will continue to feel that way - no matter what we do to try to recreate the past, we're living in the context of the present.

            I also suspect that the Apostles felt the same way, after the crucifixion and Resurrection. Even when they gathered to break bread, remembering (as Jesus had instructed in that Upper Room), it was different. They had changed, the world had changed, but they were still committed to the emotion and connection to keeping the memory alive. So even though it's different - it's the same.

            Whether lemon pie, or Eucharist, or whatever else in your world reminds you of comfort and love and grace - there will be times when they just don't taste the same. I think we are invited to honour the memory, however: letting the memory of perfect love be a blessing to us now, and a call for us to continue in the sharing of memories. They'll be different; but when in love they'll be the same.