More Than Just A Nice Meal
When was the last time you had a meal that was about more than just eating food?
Where were you and who were you with? I can recall a few of these kinds of meals in my life- like the time my favorite college professor invited our class over for some traditional Brazilian hospitality in the form of traditional rice and beans or the dinner I was invited to with someone who was an acquaintance, but after eating together she became a friend and just last week when my 18 month old decided he doesn’t want to sit in his high chair anymore and he joined us in a booster seat at the table- making my family officially a family of 4 that can sit around the same table together talking and eating together. These meals mean something that goes beyond the food we eat and even the things we talk about.
A Memorable Meal
Jesus has some memorable meals in his ministry- feeding 5000 people with a few loaves of bread and a couple fish, a wedding feast where he changes water into wine, he eats meals in the middle of controversial situations with tax collectors and fishermen, and the last supper where he sat alongside his friends- even ones who would betray him and deny him. Those meals were about a lot more than just the food they were eating. He also invites us to eat a different kind a meal; a memorable meal. He invites us to eat the bread of life that is his own body and blood. The followers of Jesus could appreciate a good meal and didn’t even mind Jesus calling himself the bread of life. But when he started asking about the true meaning of this memorable meal, they weren’t so sure they wanted any.
A Meal that brings Change
Jesus tells his followers that eating and drinking this bread and wine that is the body and blood of Jesus Christ will change their hearts and their lives. Some didn’t want this kind of commitment, so they left. Eating and drinking the body and blood of Christ is more than just a nice meal- it is a meal that changes our relationship with God and one another. This is the most memorable meal we will ever eat because in it we become one with Jesus Christ and with one another. How it all happens- we don’t know. But God promises we will be filled with spirit, life and grace in this memorable meal. Are you ready to have some?
