An intriguing feature of the gathering of friends for a formal meal in Ukraine is the series of toasts offered as the meal progresses. One by one, in time-honored tradition, glasses are lifted. At a meal In the Life Center in Kremenets, our host began by offering a toast to his guests, representatives of Thoughts of Faith (the major funder for the medical/dental and pro-life ministry called Gift of Life.) The meal itself began with borscht, a beet-based soup served with sour cream, a Ukrainian staple. Then came the second toast: to the health and happiness of all who were gathered at the long table decorated elaborately with a cloth of white and red embroidery. The meal included salad, pork, potato dumplings called vareniki, pickled root vegetables, bread, then sweets for desert. The third toast focused on love, and as it was offered, all the men stood and raised their glasses to the women in the room. With the following toasts, we remembered relatives who had been called to heaven, then the warriors who had sacrificed their lives to defend Ukraine, and finally, a toast of gratitude for many blessings. There was even a toast for guests as they departed the dinner.
The order and content of the series of traditional toasts reflect the fact that cultural and personal aspects of relationships are acknowledged and respected by repetition. Our Lutheran liturgies do something similar, reflecting theological truths in words from Holy Scripture. At worship we confess sin and receive forgiveness, we profess our faith in the Triune God, we pray together and sing God’s praises, we learn again and again the precious teachings of God’s Word. As we follow our repeated, time-honored, familiar liturgy we are saying, “These things are important to us! They reflect what God teaches us, and they reiterate what we believe.”
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God (Colossians 3).
(The ELS relationship with the Thoughts of Faith ministry in Ukraine is conducted by the Europe Committee of the Board for World Outreach.)
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Steve Petersen