Sampling (8/15/2023)

Yesterday I was visiting my local Kwik Trip for some needed supplies when I walked by Kim who was handing out free samples of their roast beef dinners. I hadn’t eaten, so I was admittedly open to sampling, but on the other hand, I knew that I didn’t like the taste of “institutional food.” I hesitated just a tad, long enough for Kim to read my mind, I think. She said, “Try it. I think you’ll be surprised.” And so, I did. I was very pleasantly surprised. It tasted just like my roast beef dinners prepared at home. While I was there, two others came along for samples. One just wanted to see for herself, I believe. The other, a gentleman, was just open to any free food on his break. Kwik Trip is onto something with their sampling.

Later in the day, as I recalled the sampling, I was struck by the thought that we Christians should take note of what Kwik Trip knows. People today are searching. What if we could offer them a taste of what they are looking for in their life, of what they need? What if within our midst they could feel the presence of our loving LORD? What if the unity of our Christian community around our LORD brought them the sense of belonging for which they longed? What if the prayers of the community drew them nearer to the LORD for whom they searched and yearned? Perhaps they would become “regulars” in our midst, fellow Christians.

I thought of the early Christian community and their attraction. People noticed they were different than the rest, draw nearer to find out what bound them together and made them special, and in the process learned about Christ and came to embrace Christ and the Christian way. There were some, it is true, who were attracted by the powerful preaching of the apostles, but there also many who needed to experience “Christ lived” not just “Christ preached.”

I thought of Sunday Mass and the young woman I noticed who was unknown to me. I’d never seen her before. I didn’t get the feeling that she was a vacationer but rather a searcher. I wondered if she found within our gathered community led by the Spirit what she was searching for that day. I wondered if the “sample” led her to see the goodness that she longed for in her life, belonging to Christ and his living Body in the world. I wished I had had an opportunity to speak to her, but I didn’t want to disturb her prayer. And later when I went to see if she was still there, she was gone. I hope she felt the love of Christ and the presence of the Spirit in our midst that day.

As we continue our journeys of faith, hope and love, let us realize that others are watching as they search for what they know they need. May our example of faith lived and authentic love shared through the power of the Spirit be just the “sample” that they were searching for.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.