The Power of a Shared Meal

1 John 3.11-24 is a section of scripture that details the love that Christians are to have for one another.  All of us would affirm that love for brothers and sisters is an integral part of the Christian life, however knowing how to express that love can be more difficult, especially in our individualistic and autonomous society.  We have grown to be accustomed to staying within our bubbles and not venturing out unless we know that it is safe, and retreating quickly back inside the bubble when things are new or different.  While many of us find this mode of operation as familiar and comfortable, it severely inhibits our ability to come alongside our brothers and sisters and show them the love the New Testament talks about.

Most of the time, it's not that we don't want to be loving toward others, but simply that we infrequently have the occasion to do so.  We're busy, and getting to know new people takes time and effort - time and effort that we usually don't have.  Thankfully, there's a very practical way to show love to brothers and sisters in Christ, and to do so through a very simple way that's already a part of our daily routines: eating.

Believe it or not, the act eating meals plays a significant role in the gospels.  Jesus is recorded in the gospels as sharing several meals with all different sorts of people.  Some scholars have even referred to this trend as Jesus "eating his way through the gospels." (For a handy chart of meals that Jesus shared with others in the gospel of Luke, for example, see here.  For a more in-depth treatment of Jesus' use of the shared meal in his ministry, see this book.)  Indeed, quite frequently, Jesus can be founding munching and snacking with people within his sphere of influence.  Each of these shared meals afforded him an opportunity to enter into the lives of the people with whom he was eating.  Many of the meals that Jesus is recorded as eating in the gospels are also accompanied by times of teaching, healing, or other such miraculous work.  Put simply, there is power in the time of a shared meal.  How so?

1. You get to know people you otherwise wouldn't.  Several times Jesus ate with people who were "off limits" or out of bounds for him to be eating with.  Consider the sinful woman of Luke 7.36-50.  She was considered a cultural taboo because of her unnamed sin.  A meal afforded Jesus the opportunity to meet her, get to know her, see past the pre-conceived notion of her, and speak into her situation.  Who do you know (that you don't really know) that you could get to know better through a shared meal?

2. You get to know people you otherwise wouldn't.  Beyond just a surface knowledge of someone, like the kind of relationship you have with a casual acquaintance, a shared meal allows you to go deeper.  Consider the meal that Jesus shared with Zacchaeus in Luke 19.  After Jesus' initial interaction with Zacchaeus, Jesus invited himself to Zacchaeus' house for supper.  Presumably, during that time, Jesus "went deeper" with Zacchaues through the conversation afforded by a shared meal.  This deeper level of intimacy led Zacchaeus to significant life-change.

3. You get to encourage people in Christ.  In Mark 2 Jesus is eating with the newly converted Levi (Matthew) and his friends (tax collectors and sinners).  These were people who were in a bad place in life and needed encouragement.  In fact, Jesus says that's why he was there (verse 17).  Who do you know who might benefit from some encouragement over a shared meal?

4. You get to know how you can serve and pray for people.  When Jesus celebrated passover with his disciples for the last time, the evening began with him washing their feet - a debased task reserved for the lowest of slaves.  Although the disciples didn't realize it, this is exactly the kind of service they needed at the time (John 13.7-8).  Getting to know someone over a shared meal exposes how you can serve them in practical ways and pray for them on a regular basis.

5. You get to know what people are dealing with in their lives.  Several of the meals Jesus shared with people dealt with some potentially hard subjects (see Luke 7.36-70, 10.38-42, and 14.1-24, for example).  Sharing a meal with someone - and the conversation that comes as a result - can lead to walls coming down and people dropping their guard.  In these times, we can open up to each other and discover what's going on beneath the surface, even when it exposes difficult situations and circumstances.  These times can afford us the opportunity to insert ourselves into the lives of others and see how we can help, support, love, and maybe even correct them during the hard times.

6. You get to celebrate the things you have in common.  One of the most joyful meals recorded in the gospels must surely come in Luke 24, when Jesus shares a meal with his disciples after his resurrection.  In that meal, all participants rejoiced in the commonality they had in the risen Savior.  When we share a meal with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we are able to celebrate our commonality in Christ, even if we have nothing else in common.  Followers of Christ are united in their commonality through him.  Because of this, the conversation at a meal shared between believers never lags.

These are just some of the trends that we see taking place when Jesus shares a meal with someone in the gospels.  There are certainly many other benefits to sharing a meal with someone.  For instance, it's a good time to catch up with old friends, tell stories, tell jokes, laugh, and of course, enjoy good food.  Sharing a meal with someone is probably the most basic and simple - yet practical and effective - way that we can show love to our brothers and sisters.  Indeed, there is power in a shared meal.  Invite someone over to your house tonight and find out for yourself.

In Search of a Good Reuben

I love Reuben sandwiches.  They're easily my favorite sandwich, and most times I will take a Reuben over a hamburger or something similar.  I really like corned beef, and I'm a huge fan of sauerkraut.  Put them together and, in my opinion, you've got magic.  I don't usually visit delis, though, so I have to find my Reubens at regular restaurants, which is not always the best.  I'm always on the lookout for a good Reuben, though, so if I'm ever somewhere obscure or somewhere I've never been before, I'll get the Reuben.

Today's Reuben came from Champps in St. Paul.  I haven't been to Champps in years.  I forgot how cool of a place it is.  The Reuben at Champps is actually very good.  It comes with a side of waffle fries, which were also very good (side note: if you're having a Reuben, you've got to have waffle fries).    Positives: 1) the Reuben was served on Russian Rye bread, which was a first for me; 2) the beef was cut very thick; 3) there was plenty of dressing.  Negatives: 1) the beef, while thick, was not very "corny."  That is, there wasn't much of a corned beef flavor; 2) the sandwich could have used about twice the amount of sauerkraut - I barely noticed it.  Final score: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Another Reuben that I've had and liked quite a bit was from Milty's in Lansing, Iowa.  Milty's has a good amount of sauerkraut, and their beefy is corny.  There's only one problem: the meat is sliced too thin, and I think it often times gets a little overcooked.  Score for the Milty's Reuben: 3 out of 5 stars.

Thinking Through the Sin of Gluttony

I did something perhaps somewhat out of character for me this week.  I started Weight Watchers for Men online.  It's definitely not something I'd normally do, nor am I super excited about doing it.  In a round about way, which I hope to explain in this post, it's gotten me thinking about the sin of gluttony.  And any time I can think about sin and its potential for me to be a part of my life, it's a good thing.  So if nothing else, joining Weight Watchers has been a good excuse for me to think about some things I haven't thought about in too much depth before, such as gluttony.

One of the members of our summer Bible study group has brought up a few times how she believes that one of the prevailing sins in the U.S. is the sin of gluttony.  This is significant, if for no other reason, than that it seems to be a more "acceptable" sin in America, as opposed to infidelity, homosexuality, or abortion, or whatever sin you want to fill in the blank with.  Put simply, we Americans are for the most part, OK with gluttony, even though it is clearly sinful behavior.

While I think this is accurate, I also don't think that the sin of gluttony applies only to food, nor do I think that anyone that is overweight is automatically guilty of gluttony.  I've been overweight literally since the day I was born (just a half-ounce shy of ten pounds at birth).  I've always been big for my age, and this continued on into adulthood.  I've never been particularly obsessed with food, nor have I ever felt as though I had to eat, or that I eat for emotional reasons.  Some people are just bigger - that's just the way it is.  There are ton of factors that can come in to play when it comes to a person's weight.  So to simply label someone as a glutton because he or she is overweight is neither wise nor accurate.

Furthermore, I don't think the Bible is always speaking about about food when it refers to the sin of gluttony.  So then what is gluttony, biblically speaking?  The Bible never directly defines gluttony, but it gives several pictures of what it looks like, which is basically overindulgence in something, commonly described in the Bible as an over-indulgence in food or drink.  Why is it bad to overindulge in food and drink?  It's certainly not wise, for one thing.  If someone spends all his or her time and effort on eating and drinking, there won't be much else to life.  Moreover, a person could spend all his livelihood on food and drink and have nothing left over (Proverbs 23.20-21).  Being obsessed with eating and drinking is certainly not a way to eat and drink to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10.31).

But there's something else going on with gluttony, as there is with all sin.  A certain action is not only sinful, but the action reveals the condition of the heart, and this is where the main problem with gluttony lies.  Gluttony has a feeling of idolatry to it.  In other words, gluttony is also described in scripture as the practice of being obsessed with food.  Not so much in eating it necessarily, but worrying about it; thinking about it; being consumed by it.  I think this probably applies to wanting food all the time, overeating, or worrying about food (such as not having enough, and worrying where the next meal is coming from, or even obsessing over not eating food so as to meet the requirements of a diet plan or to attain a certain body image, etc.; see Philippians 3.19 and Matthew 6.25 and 31-33).  The sin of gluttony manifests itself in the action of eating, but what's going on in the heart is either a worship of self (wanting to have all my physical needs filled), or a disbelief in God's provision, leading to overeating and constant worry about food.

Strangely enough, perhaps, I think joining Weight Watchers has shown me how gluttony can also take place by way of becoming obsessed with avoiding food.  This is, I think, a type of gluttony.  Being on a diet plan can cause one to think about food all the time - what I'm eating, how much I'm eating, how much I'd really like to eat something else, or making sure I save enough "points" so that I have enough leftover at the end of the day to indulge in something I really want.  For example, now that I'm watching what I eat, I realize how much I want pizza.  Not that there's anything wrong with wanting and enjoying pizza, but there is something wrong with constantly thinking about how much I want pizza, and finding my satisfaction in enjoying pizza rather than in enjoying God (again, this concept applies to more than just food, but that's the stream I'm on right now, so I'll stick with that).

This is not to say that there's anything inherently sinful about Weight Watchers, but it can be sinful to obsess over food, even if it's obsessing over avoiding food.  What's interesting is that I'm not sure I had this much of a problem with gluttony until I joined Weight Watchers.  Or maybe it's just being exposed in me as I see what I'm eating and not eating, as some of my true attitudes toward food are coming to the surface.  Either way, it's a good reason to examine my heart, motivations, and attitude about food.  If nothing else, it's helpful to ponder how one actually does eat and drink to the glory of God.

Apparently Burger King Doesn't Want My Business

That's what I think when I see this commercial:

I was absolutely floored when I first saw this, especially the fact that it's an advertisement for a KID'S MEAL. The ad is aimed at kids. Women shaking their butts (square or otherwise) in the camera, having the burger king run his tape measure across them, setting his square on them, etc. - it's aimed at kids.

I pity the parents who have to explain this to their kids who are old enough to understand it. Also, can you think of the conversations kids are having on the playground? I'm sure some girls will get teased that they have square butts, "just like the girls on the Burger King commercial." Way to go, Burger King. Real classy.

Don't Get An Obama-Burger

I have a friend who lives in Greenville, South Carolina. He just sent me an email that said that he has found a local restaurant that serves what they call an "Obama-Burger." Apparently it's pretty much a regular burger, except that when they bring the burger out to the customer, the server cuts it in half and gives half of it to a complete stranger at random! The best part is, they still charge you for the whole burger!

As far as I know this is for real, although I don't know how a restaurant could get away with something like that and maintain a customer base. I looked for the restaurant on the internet, but couldn't find it. Maybe my leg's being pulled. But even if it is, it's pretty funny.