Pumpkin Tassies in the Sky

It’s about 11 o’clock pm Thanksgiving Eve, and finally, all the side dishes are done for dinner tomorrow, but we still have to make the most celebrated items at my family’s Thanksgiving table, pumpkin tassies. In order to spend more time with family rather than in the kitchen, my mum, siblings, and I stay up late the night before and cook practically everything. So what are these coveted pumpkin tassies? They are these miniature pumpkin pies that right before you pop the whole thing into your mouth, you must stop, top it with a huge dollop of whipped cream, and then proceed to eat the entire thing in one bite.
I have been making these tiny pies since I could put on an apron, the recipe is ingrained in me. First, get all the ingredients for the crust: flour, cream cheese, and salt. And mix them together in a bowl, and chill for at least an hour. Oh, and don’t forget to preheat the oven. Next, make the filling. Mix together pumpkin, sugar, spices, evaporated milk, and eggs, until all they are fully incorporated. Now, it’s time to start assembling the little delights. Thus far, it sounds similar to making an actual pumpkin pie, but here’s the difference, instead of a monster nine inch pie plate, we use mini muffin-tins to make little individual pies. Now, take the dough out of the fridge, and pinch off a piece of dough about the size of a walnut, roll it into a ball, place it in one of the muffin-tin cups. Spread the dough out to fill the tin cup, and then fill the little crust with the pumpkin filling.
And this is the part where I doubt myself the most, knowing when to take them out of the oven. The recipe says bake them for 20 minutes, but they aren’t always fully baked. So how do I know when the tiny pies are done? My mum taught me the trick that if the tassies have a golden brown crust, and the center looks set, it’s time to pull them out of the oven. But it’s not always clear, I am always unsure and questioning whether or not they need an extra minute, or two? I wish there were a sure sign to show me that those little pumpkin tassies are done.
Those feelings unsureness and questioning I see in the crowd before Jesus in the gospel this evening. Their uneasiness is clear when they ask him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe in you?” Prior to this passage, anyone following Jesus just witnessed him feeding five thousand people, as well as walking on water. What more do they need to believe Jesus is the son of God?!
In order to understand why they asked question this question, let’s look through the lens of the crowd. At that time, most of the crowd was Jewish, and in the Jewish community there was a belief that in heaven there was a storehouse of bread. And from this storehouse, Moses feed the people of Israel. This is why they say in the reading, “Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, and ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat’”. No wonder they wanted more concrete evidence. They wanted to be 100% sure that Jesus was truly the son of God, and not just reenacting the same miracle Moses had performed.
So how will Jesus prove that he is the son of God? I imagine Jesus struggling to relate to the crowd at this moment, then suddenly he gets this brilliant idea to turn around the Jewish belief. Jesus makes himself the bread. First, he clears up the idea that the bread was from Moses, and clarifies that it is God who gives them bread. He says, “It is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.” And then he refers to himself by saying, “For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” Finally, to ensure the crowd does not miss the point, Jesus says, “I am the bread of life”
Jesus challenges his followers to think beyond the literal terminology, to understand the meaning of spiritual food. Because we tend to focus on the nitty gritty, we lose sight of the bigger picture. Jesus was sent from God, and we are to feed on his words, and through his teachings we live out the works of God. When we focus on the food that is perishable in this life, we lose sight of what it means to eat the spiritual food that endures forever.
How and when do we feed on this concept of spiritual food? I think we can find the answer to that question in the very first Thanksgiving. Andrew Smith, a food historian, explains there is a difference between the classic Thanksgiving we learn about in school, and the actual first Thanksgiving of 1621. In a letter written by Edward Winslow, a colonist at Plymouth, wrote that the Governor William Bradford declared a holiday to celebrate the treaty between the Native Americans and the colonists after the harvest. It was a celebration of community not food.
This was unheard of at the time! Two groups of people, known to be at odds with each other, were sitting down at a table together and eating together. Yes, they were thankful for the great harvest, and yes they made a grand dinner for themselves to share with the Native Americans. But the dinner was simply a side dish. The more important celebration was bringing two communities together to form one. Where can we see this happen on a regular basis, how about at that altar? When we share communion together.
Although we come from different communities, when we come to this altar, we try to act as one body of Christ. It is reflected in the last line of Deuteronomy, “Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the LORD your God has given to you and to your house.” We attempt to set aside our differences, try to understand the teachings of Jesus, and live out the mission of God; to love one another as God loves us.
Tonight, we celebrate this community not only with spiritual food, but with literal food, pie. We give thanks for the many blessings we have received in this life, especially for this community coming together to act as the body of Christ. This isn’t always easy, it takes practice.
Like looking for the golden edges on the crust or the filling to be set in those pumpkin tassies. By striving to live out the teachings of Christ, we can live out God’s mission to love one another. And eventually, we will all share in that slice of pie in the sky.