I grew up in a community where eating together was a value. Any gathering meant food was around, and there was always room at the table for one more. We didn’t live around my extended family, so often we would have whoever else was in town over for holidays, birthdays, Sunday afternoons or whatever other occasion we could come up with.
My first few years in the Midwest, I found myself disappointed when I left on Sundays with no invitation or expectation to have lunch with someone else. It was an adjustment, when I went to people’s homes and they didn’t offer me food. It was even more of a shock when they came to my house and were surprised when I wanted to feed them (even if it was 3 in the afternoon). I had to learn not to be offended by it. This dramatic shift has caused me to recognize a deep significance in sharing meals with others. Meal sharing is a spiritual act of unifying—sharing our life and existence with one another.
Food as Covenant and Redemption
Food, by existence, is invitational. Throughout the history of God and his people, their relationship with Him and their relationship to one another are shaped by food and shared meals. We see unity proclaimed through meeting the needs of our daily existence, sustaining ourselves through food (physically) but also emotionally and spiritually through fellowship. Sharing a meal says: ‘I want to know you’, ‘I want to share life, community and fellowship with you’. The act of sustaining oneself physically in community reinforced the significance of a spiritual sustenance received through covenants. Covenant feasts were a time of celebration of common unity. God used covenant acts to say, “These are my people.” Feasts were a time of unity to mark and celebrate what the Lord had done.
Eating is central to how we entered the narrative of salvation exposing our need for redemption. The first act of disobedience occurred around food: the eating from the tree in the garden. Because of this need for redemption, covenant meals point to something bigger. Shared meals also pointed to what we still needed God to do.
Our invitation to the greatest feast of Heaven comes at a cost. Our rebellion has caused separation, a spiritual starving that we cannot satiate. The answer to this is the giving of a life. This is why Christ refers to his body as bread and blood as wine. Christ presents himself in an image that simultaneously reflects the old covenant of sacrifice and gives us a new pattern of practice, a meal, to remember Him.
Food as Unity
Meal sharing becomes a prophetic practice, an incarnation of the Kingdom-to-come. Under the new covenant, we see the dinner table pointing to the common unity of the Kingdom of Heaven. In the old covenant, feasts are given to celebrate the unity of God and his people, the Jews. As we move through scripture, the new covenant table is set for more. Our final depiction of the Kingdom coming, there is a party to be had! At the Great Banquet of Christ the unity of the Church is no longer just the about the Jews, but every nation tribe and tongue. The Kingdom table welcomes the marginalized, the poor and the broken. The message is clear: there is always room at the table.
In these next couple months, I want to talk about what I call “Food Theology” and how we see the unity of the Kingdom echoed within scripture by meal sharing. I want to open it up by examine this practice in our modern-day church. The unity of the Kingdom is shown when we fellowship with those who are different from us. It’s important to note that Jesus uses something routine and daily practice as a prophetic act that demonstrates the inclusiveness of the Kingdom coming. I believe Jesus chose this act because our ‘theology’ is seen more about how we live out our lives and less so what we write or read.
Who is welcome at our table? Who do we feast with to celebrate what the Lord has done and what he promises to do?
Missio Alliance Comment Policy
The Missio Alliance Writing Collectives exist as a ministry of writing to resource theological practitioners for mission. From our Leading Voices to our regular Writing Team and those invited to publish with us as Community Voices, we are creating a space for thoughtful engagement of critical issues and questions facing the North American Church in God’s mission. This sort of thoughtful engagement is something that we seek to engender not only in our publishing, but in conversations that unfold as a result in the comment section of our articles.
Unfortunately, because of the relational distance introduced by online communication, “thoughtful engagement” and “comment sections” seldom go hand in hand. At the same time, censorship of comments by those who disagree with points made by authors, whose anger or limited perspective taints their words, or who simply feel the need to express their own opinion on a topic without any meaningful engagement with the article or comment in question can mask an important window into the true state of Christian discourse. As such, Missio Alliance sets forth the following suggestions for those who wish to engage in conversation around our writing:
1. Seek to understand the author’s intent.
If you disagree with something the an author said, consider framing your response as, “I hear you as saying _________. Am I understanding you correctly? If so, here’s why I disagree. _____________.
2. Seek to make your own voice heard.
We deeply desire and value the voice and perspective of our readers. However you may react to an article we publish or a fellow commenter, we encourage you to set forth that reaction is the most constructive way possible. Use your voice and perspective to move conversation forward rather than shut it down.
3. Share your story.
One of our favorite tenants is that “an enemy is someone whose story we haven’t heard.” Very often disagreements and rants are the result of people talking past rather than to one another. Everyone’s perspective is intimately bound up with their own stories – their contexts and experiences. We encourage you to couch your comments in whatever aspect of your own story might help others understand where you are coming from.
In view of those suggestions for shaping conversation on our site and in an effort to curate a hospitable space of open conversation, Missio Alliance may delete comments and/or ban users who show no regard for constructive engagement, especially those whose comments are easily construed as trolling, threatening, or abusive.