I'll have Isaiah with a side of carrots, please...

I love my church.

Last Sunday, I was reminded once again of the myriad ways I learn at that church. I hardly remember a thing from the sermon because I spent the entire service thinking long and hard on a passing comment that was made during the announcements.

Who goes to church prepared to receive soul-feeding truth from the announcements?!?!

(The downside of this phenomenon is that it happens often enough that I get very irritable when I am late for church. While some may be tempted to say "you're only missing the announcements," I am all-too-fully aware that I may be missing out on tendrils of thought that may encourage me for days. I want to hear the announcements, dangit!)

The focus of the entire morning (announcements, worship, responsive readings, sermon) was on the Word of God. I don't remember the exact context, but during the announcements Pastor Sam was pointing out all of the different Bible-reading tools available in the lobby. He was making a case for the importance of being in the Word on a daily basis and he made the comment that you may not always remember what you read last Saturday and that's okay. You may not remember what you had for lunch on Saturday, either, but it still nourished you at the time.

That struck me as so profound and encouraging that I spent the entire rest of the service contemplating that one thought. I think I am sometimes discouraged from my time spent reading the Word because I don't perceive that it is making any instant and tangible change in my life. Sometimes I can't even articulate the general significance of the passage I am reading, much less what I myself am learning from it. As I pondered, I realized I have bought-in to the emotionalization that pervades my generation. I want a Scripture-reading experience. I want to feel something. I want every encounter with Scripture to be life-changing. But sometimes it's not. Sometimes it is "merely" life-sustaining. And that's okay.

I like the food analogy. There is a time for feasting. There is a time for life-changing, emotional encounters with God's Holy Word. It's like Christmas dinner (which, some would argue, can be a life-changing, emotional experience itself). And when the time comes for such an experience, it should be treasured, celebrated, enjoyed, and valued. But it might not be the norm. And it certainly isn't necessary on a daily basis.

Sometimes you just need a piece of toast to hold you over until dinner.

The funny thing is that these "forgettable" meals are actually the important ones. They are the life-sustaining ones. You can live without an annual Christmas feast. You can't live without all of your forgettable meals. You would probably only eat on holidays and even then, you wouldn't be able to enjoy it. Your stomach would be so shriveled - so familiar with your starvation- that the feast would sicken you.

So, here's to a new approach to Scripture in 2011! May it be a life-sustaining year. And may it prepare me for the feast, should it come.