I love eating.
I wake up every morning looking forward to breakfast, even though my breakfast is usually just a piece of toast with peanut butter and jelly.
I love eating my lunch at work. I try to hold out as long as I can to make eating my lunch that much more enjoyable.
One of my favorite parts about being married is coming home from work and making dinner for Alycia and myself. I love sitting down over dinner and talking about our days.
We need to eat in order to survive. But we also need the fellowship and relationships that can be built over a meal.
I love eating, which is why I’m glad a meal is included in Holy Week.
Maundy Thursday focuses on the Last Supper. On Maundy Thursday it’s appropriate to gather with friends for a meal and enjoy the same intimacy that Jesus shared with his disciples. We need to eat and we need relationships; both of those realities are captured at the Last Supper.
I’m glad that even in the 24th century friends and loved ones will still gather for a meal and a celebration. Star Trek: Nemesis begins with the wedding of Commander Riker and Counselor Troi. After years of their back and forth, will they won’t they, Sam and Diane relationship, Riker and Troi finally tie the knot. Their wedding is definitely a celebration of love and friendship, as all of their closest friends and crewmates are present.
The guests at the wedding weren’t reclined around tables and eating traditional Jewish food, but the same themes of friendship and intimacy were present at the wedding as at the Last Supper.
At our church we celebrate Communion once a month. But we really honor the Last Supper every time we break bread with friends and enjoy life-giving relationships. Some of the holiest moments in my life have taken place over a meal, as friends shared stories about God’s faithfulness over the years.
Food and relationships are both vital. We can celebrate both on Maundy Thursday.
How have you experienced the friendship and intimacy of the Last Supper over a meal of your own?
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