Sharing a Meal with Jesus

~Revelation 3.20

Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.

Sharing a meal with Jesus! There's an analogy to ponder. I bet the menu would be out of this world, so to speak. But even so, it would be of little importance by comparison to the company.

No Clue

~Jude 1.12

These people (people who, v4, pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord, and, ungodly people who, v8, pollute their own bodies and reject authority) are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted —twice dead.

Here is no hint of what was actually eaten at the "love feasts," just a warning about who may show up to eat there. Also another food analogy. As my pastors like to say, "healthy living things reproduce."

Fellowship Meals

~II Peter 2.13b

[False teachers] delight in deception even as they eat with you in your fellowship meals.

Nothing much to learn about food here, except that it's eaten in fellowship.

Share

~I Peter 4.9

Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.

Enough said. :-]

~I Peter 4.3

You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy—their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols.

The word "feasting" here in the New Living Translation is not the best choice, since clearly God sees feasting as a way to celebrate, even in heaven. See April 11, 2012, entry and Revelation 19.7 & 9. No, I take Peter's meaning here to be gluttonous eating, not just feasting.

Strength for Swimming

~Acts 27.18, 20-21

The next day, as gale-force winds continued to batter the ship, the crew began throwing the cargo overboard. . . . . The terrible storm raged for many days, blotting out the sun and the stars, until at last all hope was gone. No one had eaten for a long time. Finally, Paul called the crew together and said, . . . . "Take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down."

~Acts 27.33-39

Just as day was dawning, Paul urged everyone to eat. “You have been so worried that you haven’t touched food for two weeks,” he said. “Please eat something now for your own good. For not a hair of your heads will perish.” Then he took some bread, gave thanks to God before them all, and broke off a piece and ate it. Then everyone was encouraged and began to eat—all 276 of us who were on board. After eating, the crew lightened the ship further by throwing the cargo of wheat overboard. When morning dawned, . . . they saw a bay with a beach . . . .

I don't know if people weren't eating because they felt seasick from the rolling of the boat in the storm or because they had given up hope of life. Apparently available food on board was nothing highly desired or some may have wanted it just for the comfort in a perilous time or even for enjoyment, like a last meal indulgence; "eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you die."

At any rate, when Paul shared with them that an angel had come to him in the night with assurance that all would live, hope was renewed and they were able to follow his example and eat. The food gave them strength--which they were about to need for swimming to shore! In our day and culture, food is so abundant that we don't often think of it as giving strength. In fact, we have such a wealth of eats available on every hand, that we over-consume and strength is sapped when we slip into post-meal lethargy.

Sleeping in "Church" Leads to Meaningful Meeting

~Acts 20.7-12

On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking, . . .and he prolonged his message until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together. And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead. But Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, “Do not be troubled, for his life is in him.” When he had gone back up and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left. They took away the boy alive, and were greatly comforted.

Wouldn't we love to have more details of this story. The group gathers to "break bread." That could mean they gathered to have a meal together, but since the talk came first and went on until midnight, it seems more likely they gathered to take the sacrament of communion, honoring the death of Christ. Warm light flickers from the lamps; Paul's voice intones on and on. The teenager Eutychus, whose name means fortunate one, slowly slips into daze phase and then his body relaxes into sleep. One moment he is there; the next there's a soft shuffling sound, and whoosh, he's gone!

Who saw it? Maybe his friends who had been watching and snickering as he drifted off? What excitement for them! Maybe Paul who would have been facing his audience was the one to sound the alarm. Certainly it wasn't his mother, for we know that no self-respecting mom would have let her kid fall asleep in such a spot. Did the audience hear the scrape of his sandals against the wall as he fell from the window sill or the thud as the body hit the ground below? Maybe no one really saw him go, but hearing a sound, a curious person standing nearby went to the window and looked down.

Either way, the alarm was sounded and doubtless there was a sudden speedy exit from the room as everyone rushed down the stairs, Eutychus' family with some fear I would guess. Young's Literal Translation says the youth was "lifted up dead." What does Paul do? The translations have different views, from J.B. Phillips' "bent over him and holding him gently in his arms" to the statement of The Message that Paul "stretched himself on him, and hugged him hard."

Gently or vigorously, the boy was revived, much to everyone's relief. After returning to the room, the thankful believers having just looked death in the face and experienced an amazing resuscitation, shared the Lord's supper. Perhaps they were more attentive after that, as the text says Paul continued talking with them until dawn. What a service that would have been to attend.

God's Table for Us

~Psalm 23.5

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

I have been reading in Romans in the chronological Bible and not hit on any food references for a week, so I decided to jump to Psalms in the meantime.

How wonderful that in David's most famous poem, his shepherd-influenced picture of how God loves and cares for his children, we have a table set for us. I picture it as an amazing feast. Perhaps it is the one Jesus mentions in the references below.

~Matthew 8.10-11

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said . . . “many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

~Luke 13.29

People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.

~Luke 14.15 [ The Parable of the Great Banquet ] When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus,

“Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”

Wow! Wonder what's on the menu. :-]

Communion

~I Corinthians 11.17-34

This passage is familiar to anyone who was raised in a traditional church. Christ giving his life, his physical body and blood, for the salvation of mankind is the foundation of Christianity. This giving is symbolically remembered to this day. How? By the sacrament of Communion: we are privileged to take in the bread of his body and the wine of his blood. This is how he shows his profound love and sacrifice. The symbolic eating and drinking is how we receive it.

Ron Sider in his 1977 Christian Century article "Sharing the Wealth: The Church as Biblical Model for Public Policy" further expounds these verses:

"In Christ there is one new person, one new body of believers. When the brothers and sisters share the one bread and the common cup in the Lord’s Supper, they symbolize and actualize their participation in the one body of Christ. That is why the class divisions at Corinth so horrified Paul. Wealthy Christians, apparently, were feasting at the eucharistic celebrations while poor believers went hungry. Paul angrily denied that they were eating the Lord’s body and blood because they did not discern his body (vv. 27-29). By this Paul meant that they failed to realize that their membership in the one body of Christ was infinitely more important than the class or ethnic differences which divided them. One brings judgment on oneself if one does not perceive that eucharistic fellowship with Christ is totally incompatible with living a practical denial of that unity of all believers in his body. As long as one Christian anywhere in the world is hungry, the eucharistic celebration of all Christians everywhere is incomplete."

(As I side note, I do wonder why Paul refers to eating the bread and drinking the cup. Why not eating the dish and drinking the cup, or even better, eating the bread and drinking the wine?)

Eat for God's Glory

~I Corinthians 10:3-5, 6-7, 15-22, 25-31

~25-26 So you may eat any meat that is sold in the marketplace without raising questions of conscience. For “the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”

~31 So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

In this chapter Paul covers several food-related topics (see labels), but there is nothing specific about a particular food. I print only the key verses 25-26 and 31.

Another interesting point here is the connection between idols and demons. Surely it's possible to make an idol of food. Be careful, Ruthie!

Don't muzzle the ox, Mom!

~I Corinthians 9.3-4, 7-10

This is my answer to those who question my authority. Don’t we have the right to live in your homes and share your meals? . . . . What farmer plants a vineyard and doesn’t have the right to eat some of its fruit? What shepherd cares for a flock of sheep and isn’t allowed to drink some of the milk? Am I expressing merely a human opinion, or does the law say the same thing? For the law of Moses says, “You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain.” Was God thinking only about oxen when he said this? Wasn’t he actually speaking to us? Yes, it was written for us, so that the one who plows and the one who threshes the grain might both expect a share of the harvest.

~I Corinthians 9.11-14

Since we have planted spiritual seed among you, aren’t we entitled to a harvest of physical food and drink? . . . . Don’t you realize that those who work in the temple get their meals from the offerings brought to the temple? And those who serve at the altar get a share of the sacrificial offerings. In the same way, the Lord ordered that those who preach the Good News should be supported by those who benefit from it.

~I Timothy 5.17-19

The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” (Deuteronomy 25.4) and “The worker deserves his wages” (Luke 10.7)

~II Timothy 2.6

And hardworking farmers should be the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor.

Our kids loved to remind me of this ox when they were mixing up a batch of cookies or biscuits as a reason for helping themselves to the dough. It's a reasonable point. Paul uses it twice. :-]

Considering Others

~I Corinthians 8.9-10, 13 But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble. For if others see you—with your “superior knowledge”—eating in the temple of an idol, won’t they be encouraged to violate their conscience by eating food that has been offered to an idol? . . . . So if what I eat causes another believer to sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live—for I don’t want to cause another believer to stumble.

~I Corinthians 10.14-31 expansion of same subject

This passage uses dietary choices as one arena for showing respect to brothers and sisters in the faith. I need to lovingly consider the beliefs of people I eat with so that I encourage and rather than discourage their journey of faith.

Multipurpose Meal

~Acts 16.33-34 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.

This was a meal of comfort given to men who had recently been beaten, a meal of thankfulness for Paul's integrity which had saved the life of the host, a meal of celebration for newcomers added to the Kingdom of God. I wonder what was served.

Who shall I eat with?

~Galatians 2.11-13 When Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile Christians, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism . . . . As a result, other Jewish Christians followed Peter’s hypocrisy . . . .

How quickly Peter seems to forget his lesson that it's God's opinion, not man's, that matters.

Change in Worldview

~Acts 10.41 . . . unto witnesses chosen before God, even to us, who did eat and drink with [Jesus] after he rose from the dead.

Eating and drinking with someone is an indication of relationship.

~Acts 11.2-3 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

This comment shows the reverse of the first. According to Old Testament law, God's people were not to eat with Gentiles, people who had a different belief. Peter's vision and experience with Cornelius equipped him to answer this criticism in a way that was life-changing to his hearers, leaders of the new Christian faith.

Not everyone is called to be a food monitor.

~Acts 6.1-5

In those days ... the Hellenistic Jews . . . complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
This proposal pleased the whole group.

~Acts 21.8

The next day we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the Evangelist, one of the seven men who had been chosen to distribute food.

A couple of food points can be observed here.

Believers shared food in a daily distribution.

And not everyone is called to be a food monitor; specific people were chosen for this. Even so, Philip, one of the seven chosen for this physical work, later is known for his evangelism as well.

Eating together is a valuable part believers' lives.

~Acts 2.42-43, 46-47 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. . . . . They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

For all the wealth it contains, the Bible is not a big book, and the New Testament only about a quarter of the whole. Therefore, every detail carries weight and repetition carries more weight. Twice in this short passage Luke says that the first believers in Christ ate together. He wants readers to hear this. Eating together is part of the life of the church, of the fellowship of believers. We need to eat; we eat together. Christianity is not a solitary pursuit.

Sharing Meals

~Acts 2.42, 46-47 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. . . . . They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

Eating together is part of the Christian life.

The Fisherman and the Master, part 2

~John 21.1-19

"Don't think about it. You can't change the past. You can't change what happened. You're a big-mouth boasting idiot with no more guts than the fish you clean, a pathetic excuse of a friend who bails out when the things get tough. You're a worse traitor than Judas. At least Judas had the balls to face Jesus and betray him outright." The more Peter's thoughts accused him the harder he worked. Even though the air was sweet and cool as dawn approached, sweat poured down his bare back.

It had been his idea to come to the lake. After all, they were just sitting around wondering when and how the Lord would appear to them again, wondering if he would appear again. While words could barely express the amazement and joy they had felt at seeing Jesus alive, still, when left to themselves, they had no idea what to do next. Often it had been Peter who had the ideas. But since that night of the arrest, he was so immersed in his own failure he could barely function. And unlike the others, his relief and joy at seeing Jesus was tempered with shame.

Abruptly he had ceased pacing the room and announced, "I'm going fishing."

Although it was late in the night, most of them jumped to their feet too. Work was better than just waiting to see what came next. But it had been pointless work, as it turned out. All night they'd caught nothing.

None of his companions dared say anything to Peter as he worked furiously, rowing to re-position the boat, sharpening their fishing knives, anything to stay busy. Peter's restless activity stood in sharp contrast to the quiet of the water and the other men. The sails hung as empty as the nets and as their hopes for a catch.

Then, just before dawn broke, someone hailed them from beside a fire on the shore. "Young men! Have you caught anything?"

"Nothing," Thomas yelled.

The man on the beach called back, "Throw out your net on the right side of the boat and see what happens."

Peter paused, wiped an arm across his forhead and reached for a drink of water. The rest of them, happy for distraction, humored the odd request and threw the net over. Within minutes there were fish, not just a few fish, but as many as the net could hold. Suddenly, Peter's full attention was riveted on the man on the shore.

"It's the Lord," said John, voicing the thought of all.

Without hesitation, without deliberation, Peter grabbed his tunic, threw it over his head and plunged into the sea, swimming for land with all his might. Only as his feet touched bottom and he walked up dripping from the cold, shallow water did he realize that he had nothing to say to his one-time Master and friend. It was the third time he'd seen Jesus since the resurrection. The other times had been in a room with everyone there, James, John, Andrew, all of them. Jesus had paid Peter no special attention. Why should he? Peter felt his own failure deeply, but he did not know how to express the anguish of his regret. He had betrayed the Lord. That was an irrefutable fact of history. Still, he was drawn to Jesus.

Wet and cold Peter went to the fire and stooped without a word to warm himself. As he did, he was hit with a horrible deja vu: dawn breaking, Peter shivering, warm fire, Jesus nearby. Unbidden, the scene replayed in his mind. The servant girl stares and accuses him, "He's one of them!" Peter denies it. "I don't know him!" Three times someone had suggested he was a follower of Jesus, and three times he had denied it—once with an oath. How could he have lost his nerve, his commitment, so completely? And then Jesus had turned to him just as the rooster crowed. It had happened exactly as the Lord, who knew him so well, had predicted, and just as Peter, who apparently knew himself so little, had poo-foo'd as impossible. Well, he knew better now. And what he saw of himself was weak and ugly.

Peter miserably rubbed his hands and stared into the fire as he remembered these words of the Lord: “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven." Denied before Yahweh. And deservedly so. There was no more reason to live or to die. Peter shuddered, not entirely from the cold.

The boat had not been far from land, so the others approached within minutes, towing the laden net of fish. Jesus was tending some bread on the fire, getting ready for breakfast. "Bring some of your fish," he said. Mechanically, Peter rose and dragged the net in as the others gathered eagerly around the Master. Yes, they too had been afraid. They had even run. But they had not so blatantly denied him. They could interact with him now without shame.

Soon fish crackled on the coals and everyone but Peter enjoyed the catch and the bread that Jesus had prepared.

Afterwards, as the sun climbed, Peter walked away from the circle of fellowship where he felt an outsider. But Jesus followed. For the first time since the terrible event, the Lord spoke to Peter directly, using his formal name. "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others?"

There had been a time, it seemed long ago, when Peter was sure he loved the Lord more than any of the others. "Yes, Lord," he answered without conviction. "You know I love you."

"Then feed my lambs."

What did that mean? Before Peter could decide, Jesus asked again, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"

"Yes, Lord. You know I love you."

"Take care of my sheep."

Peter's misery increased. Obviously the Lord saw right through him and the profound limits of the meager, piddling love which was all he had to give.

Jesus stopped walking, stepped in front and put his hands on Peter's shoulders to look into his face, but Peter could only study his sandy feet. "Simon son of John, do you love me?"

Finally, Peter looks up and meets Jesus’ eyes. Tears gather. "Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you."

"Feed . . . my . . . sheep."

Feed my sheep. At last Peter is able to hear. It’s a commission. Even he, with all of his weakness and self-loathing, is not rejected. He is restored! The Lord will still use him. Can it be?

Jesus answers the question in Peter's eyes. "I tell you the truth, when you were young you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” These sobering words prophesied death. Peter understood. He was reinstated into the Kingdom he thought had been lost to him forever; this time he would be faithful until death. Jesus knew. Jesus could see it. Peter would still get an opportunity to bring glory to God. Relief and joy washed over him.

"Follow me," said Jesus. And Peter did.

In the days following, Peter and all the believers were filled with the Holy Spirit, so that they no longer sat wondering what to do. They had a broken world to reach with the message of Jesus' good news. On that Pentecost it is Peter who tells the people, "God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” And when the people hear this and are cut to the heart and ask what they should do, it is Peter who answers with confidence from his own rejection and restoration, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

The Risen Lord Eats

~Luke 24.30-31 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.

I love the Emmaus Road story. Love it. We learn nothing new about food here, but it's a beautiful picture of the risen Lord taking bread, giving thanks for it, breaking the loaf and sharing it. I do wonder why it was the guest who did this and not the host.

~Luke 24.39-43 "Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.

~Mark 16.14 says he appeared to the disciples as they were eating.

Remember the little girl Jesus raised from the dead? The first thing he said to her parents was to get her something to eat. Here in his first recorded post-resurrection appearance to his disciples, Jesus also asks for food. Was he really hungry or was he just reassuring them again with the reality of his physical presence?

The Lord's Supper

~Matthew 26.16-30, Mark 14.12-26, Luke 22.7-38, John 13

Bread. Wine. Such important symbols of the Jewish and Christian faiths.

The Passover Meal is full of meaning, which I think will be better considered from the Old Testament explanations when I get to that point.

Now, I only note again that meals are an important part of life, sometimes setting for significant conversations and symbolism.