At the Table

By Tim Mackie

“Tell me what you eat, and I’ll tell you who you are,” says Anthelme Savrin, a renowned French chef. He’s more right than he knows. What and how we eat, and who we eat with, express not only what we think about food, but how we see our relationships to other people. Meals are a way of showing who we care about, who we choose to include in our lives.

Jesus knew this and challenged His followers to foster a different approach to meals (Luke 14:1-14). He envisioned mealtimes as an opportunity to embody the good news of the kingdom, an invitation to those who are not on the VIP list. Inviting someone into your home and sharing what you have is a picture of God’s own generosity and His gift of grace.

The early Christians were known for their distinct eating practices. In Acts 2:42-47, we’re told that the first Jesus communities in Jerusalem began growing rapidly by a ministry of meals. People without resources were invited to the homes of Jesus’ followers, and were included in the sharing of money, food and goods. This, as Luke tells us, was their way of celebrating the story of the Gospel - not only with words, but by living out the story in the making and sharing of meals.

Having someone over for a meal is a tangible way of inviting him or her into our lives. The slurping, the wiping of mouths and pouring of drinks fosters an atmosphere of commonality and openness that is hard to create anywhere else. The act and experience communicate much more than words can say.

As part of our Love Where You Live theme at Blackhawk this year, we want to recapture this early Christian ministry of meals with a challenge to our whole church. This month,think of someone in your day-to-day world of work or neighborhood whom you wouldn’t normally have in your home and invite them over for a meal.

Think of it as an expression of grace, a giving of your food and time that the other person would never have expected, with no strings attached. That’s agape, an action done for someone else regardless of their response. It may result in a new friendship, or it may not. But, if the gospel teaches us anything, it’s that intentional acts of agape and grace are like seeds thrown into a field. You never know what will spring up as result.