Strawberry Shortcake
(First in the Church Casserole Supper Series)
Psalm 19.7-10
Second Sunday in Lent
Dr. Matthew M. Fry

As we continue to experience The Word of the Lord together, Let us Pray. Speak Lord, your servants are listening. Amen.

Today starts a five-sermon series that will run through the rest of Lent and to Easter Sunday. I have taken several scriptures, and have fashioned them around the theme of the Casserole supper. Which is fun because our tradition is to have a casserole breakfast on Easter Sunday.

I hesitate to mention this for a few reasons. But one reason Strawberry Shortcake is on this list is that we had a casserole supper a couple of months ago, and someone brought some. Therefore, Strawberry Shortcake was on my mind when I was coming up with what to preach for Lent. Another reason is that Strawberry shortcake is a personal favorite of mine, and always has been. So I hesitate because I know that good strawberry shortcake isn’t necessarily easy to make, and I don’t want one of you to think that the way to get in good with the pastor is to bring it to the next casserole supper. One, I don’t want you to have to work that much just for me. And two, I don’t want the next supper to have no main dishes or side dishes, and just have strawberry shortcake. Well, maybe I do.

Anyway, in that vein, we’re going to start with this series today in Psalm 19. Listen for God’s Word for you today. Psalm 19.7-10.

7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the LORD are sure, making wise the simple; 8 the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eyes; 9 the fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb.

The Grass Withers, The Flower Falls, but The Word of The Lord endures forever…Thanks be to God.

This is a wonderful litany of following the Lord. The law of the Lord is perfect and revives the soul. The decrees or the Lord are sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. And on down the line until we get to verse 10. In verse 10, the ways of following the Lord are compared with two of the most rare and valuable things of the day. Gold, and honey. We still think of gold as rare and valuable. It is, after all, the gold standard. Gold is something our economy is based on. We hold it in Fort Knox and keep guard around it. We understand that gold is a very valuable thing, and a very desired thing. So, for the Psalmist to write that the ways of following the Lord as described are “More to be desired are they than gold,” that translates easily for us.

Honey, however, is a little bit lost on us. Sure, we know that honey is sweet. In fact, many people use the term “Honey” as a term of endearment. “Honey, I’m home.” But we’ve lost the idea of how rare honey used to be. Now we get honey by the bunches in the store. It’s in little bear shaped bottles. It is easy and cheap. But that was certainly not the case when these words were originally written. Honey was not only sweet, it was very rare. It was a little like saffron. Saffron is an herb, like basil. I’ve got a recipe that I haven’t made in 18 years that has saffron and coconut milk in it. It makes this delicious tangy and savory sauce to put over chicken and rice. I made it 18 years ago with a friend who was a chef and had access to it through his hippy café, his words, not mine. I haven’t made this recipe in 18 years because fresh saffron, while exquisite costs up to $65 per ounce. It is not the price of gold, but has long passed the price of silver. That is a good feel for what honey was like when these words were written. Gold was precious and rare. Honey was delicious and rare.

Following the ways of the Lord is rare. Many people claim to do it, but rare are the times when we actually do. Usually we all tend to follow our favorite doctrines and religious codes, and lean on them as a crutch, and leave the bit behind about following the living Lord who calls us to uncomfortable places. We find comfort in our doctrines and religious codes, they are tried and true, and rarely change. But following the living Lord is very different. Rare are the times when we do that wholeheartedly.

Following the ways of the Lord is precious. Nothing is more valuable than having a relationship with God. Nothing is also more costly. God loves you and me just the way we are now. God also loves you and me enough to not want us to stay the way we are now. God knows that there is a better way to live for each one of us. And growing into what God has for us, as we transform from glory into glory, is valuable and costly.

Following the ways of the Lord is delicious and sweet. Sure, there are times when we question the cost of following the ways of the Lord. And sure, there are times when we all question the value of following the ways of the Lord, and wonder if the value is worth the cost. But there are those times, when the presence of the Lord just washes over you, overwhelms you really, and the moment is so delicious that it is hard to stand it.

When I was a young pastor’s kid, about Kayla’s age, I grew up in a church that had a large kitchen and a cooking staff. That church now uses a regular catering service for the meals they serve, and has a newly renovated large kitchen. And back then, Wednesday night supper was, as it is here, a big deal. But, I do remember one thing being different. Desert was not included in the price of supper. Desert was a-la cart. Desert was not made by the cooking staff. It was, instead, made by volunteers. The price you paid for dinner covered the cost of dinner. But what you bought in desert went into the church budget. Granted, it was only a quarter for desert, but this was 30 years ago, so that was considerably more money. This was when the coke machine cost 10 cents, and dispensed bottles. Glass, not plastic.

Anyway, every Wednesday several different people would each bring in about 20 – 25 deserts. And you could get a pick. I saved a quarter each week from my allowance, which was 50 cents, though I was able to earn more by doing chores around the house. If I collected a paper grocery bag full of pine cones, I got a dime. I saved that quarter for Wednesday night, because one of the women of the church always brought Strawberry Shortcake. Fresh Strawberries on top of the lightest angel cake. Or sometimes she’d mix it up and do this biscuit type thing. But always with the fresh strawberries, and just the right amount of honey and lemon zest. Makes my mouth water just to think of it. That was the best!

I remember how much I would push my mom to leave so that we could get there early, because I didn’t want to get to the desert line and find that the strawberry shortcake had been sold out. And when mom couldn’t get going in time, I would walk to church. I also remember how many bags of pinecones I collected to make sure that I had enough money to get my weekly fix of the shortcake.

I made sacrifices and organized my life around that sweet, sweet strawberry shortcake. I became known as Matt Fry, Strawberry Shortcake guy. I took a good deal of teasing from some friends, because strawberry shortcake wasn’t quite as manly as a brownie with chopped pecans. But I also got some preferential treatment from both the maker of the shortcake and the person sitting at the desert table taking quarters. I got the one with the most strawberries, and no whip cream, just the way I like it. The maker of the shortcake, I found out later, would tell the person selling the desert which one was to be mine, and then he would hold it, just for me.

The law of the Lord is perfect and revives the soul. The decrees or the Lord are sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweet also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb.

God has a wonderful way of life picked out, and held just for you, and just for me. It is precious. It is rare. And it is delicious and sweet. Amen.