Grain & Embers 10/21/24

Acts 2:42-47 Gives us a Theology of Food.

Can you imagine having someone over to your home for dinner, but then upon the arrival of your guests, you decided that conversation with them was enough, and the element of food was not longer necessary? My suspicion is that your guests would be shocked that they were led to your home under false pretenses, and friendship with them would be unlikely. This seems impossible to imagine, yet I'm afraid that there is a similar new phenomenon that has taken hold of the modern Christian Church in the Western hemisphere: we invite people to Church, and never invite them into our Home. 

We've been wrongly conditioned to believe the influence of a Church platform will have more impact than an invitation to a table. It's never one or another - it's always a both/and. 

It's almost 2025 and our country is more divided politically than ever, which has created a lot of tension. Culture is becoming increasing hostile toward the Christian faith, and most families face economic strain. This has created a dog-eat-dog world in which we feel as though we must look after ourselves. While its true you are responsible for your family's well-being, the Christian faith has a rich tradition of looking out for one another in a way that transcends politics, income levels, and faith backgrounds: food. Food has the power to break tension, create common ground, and enlarges our capacity to host the presence of God. My desire is for you to develop a robust theology of food.

In todays world, food is either demonized as the reason people over-eat, or is worshiped as a reason to live. The Bible presents it as neither. The Bible presents food as a tool that accomplishes a greater goal, and something to be enjoyed, but not worshiped.
1 Corinthians 10:31; Psalms 136:25; Psalms 104:15; Ecclesiastes 9:7

Jesus takes the analogy of hungering for food and re-applies it to hunger for Him and His presence. This is one of the reasons you cannot Biblically fast from anything but food, because nothing will create an equivalent hunger like the absence of food will. Taking a break from social media is a virtuous thing, but fasting is ancient and social media didn't exist when fasting was introduced. If you want to increase your hunger for God, you must introduce regular fasting in your life. But that's for a different blog for a different Monday. (If you have a history of disordered eating, seek help for it first before engaging in fasting).

I know not everyone we invite to Church will have an open enough schedule to come to our home, or even want to. But when we invite people to Church, especially those who live in closer proximity to us and stop short of inviting them to our table, we are leading them to the faith under false pretenses. A life of faith in Jesus includes a theology of the home and table.

The Lord reclined with the disciples around the Table and shared food in John 22 before the Prayer Meeting occurred in the Upper Room in Acts 1. That's the precedent. The table often begets the larger gathering, and both invite the presence of God.

In the Scriptures, it almost seemed normal to create space in the home to host the presence of God.

1. The Wedding in Cana of Galilee - John 2:1-12
2. Peter's House - Luke 4:38-39
3. The House in Capernaum - Luke 5:17-26
4. The House of Levi - Luke 5:29-32
5. Simons House - Luke 7:36-46
6. Jairus's House - Luke 8:41-56
7. The House of Martha and Mary - Luke 10:38-42
8. The House of Zacchaeus - Luke 19:1-10
9. The House in the Cenacle - Luke 22:10-14
10. The House of Caiaphas - Matthew 26:57
11. The House of Emmaus - Luke 24:14-35
12. The House of the Disciples - John 20:19-23

What if Jesus was never invited into these homes? Think of the miracles that would have never happened..

Jesus' ministry was equally in the home as it was in the temple.
Jesus' presence can be hosted in our homes as much as it can be hosted in our Sunday Gatherings.

May prayer is that you carry the conviction that the Word models a Christian life that is engaged in the gathering before the pulpit, and engaged in the gathering around the table.  

Here are a few thoughts for you this week:
1. Pray to God and ask Him to reveal a family or two you could invite into your home to share a meal with.
2. If you can't cook, just order takeout. Don't overthink this. (Trader Joes and Aldi have some great family sized freezer meals!)
3. Invite Jesus too - he wants to help enlarge your capacity to host His presence around your table.

-Pastor Luke