"THANKSGIVING: A TIME TO NOUISH BODY AND SOUL" - By Dan Hart, FRC’s Managing Editor of PublicationsNovember 21, 2018; https://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WA18K37&f=WU18K12
When the Pilgrims reaped a bountiful harvest in the fall of 1621 after having first landed in the New World the year before, they instinctually desired to give thanks to God for their blessings by sharing a feast with the Native people. Our country has carried on that tradition ever since, with millions of American families and friends sitting down together to share this symbolic meal every third week in November.
But why is a meal the focal point of Thanksgiving? What makes a meal so meaningful to our human nature? When our stomachs rumble, is it just food that we are hungry for -- or are our hearts also hungry?
Sharing a meal with others has become one of our most basic human traditions. It’s no accident that when we host friends in our homes or go out to celebrate a special occasion, the event is almost always centered around food. Food is an important and intimate part of our lives, not only because we need it to survive, but also because of how often we have an appetite -- it has naturally become a daily ritual to share meals with family and friends for the two-fold benefit of food and fellowship.
When we dig a little deeper, we discover an integral relationship between food and how God designed us to relate to others. As John Cuddeback has written, “The table is a place to be present to one another, in and through our eating.” Cooking, he goes on to say, is the means by which this takes place, and therefore takes on a supernatural meaning: “…to cook is to take care of others; it is to serve them, to give them life, and to love them.” To put this in perspective: our hunger leads to food, food leads to meals, meals lead to friendship, and friendship leads to communion with one another. Not coincidentally, God in His essence is communion itself -- the communion of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When we partake in authentic communion with each other, we are imaging the Trinity.
In the gospels, it is clear that food is a central theme of Christ’s mission. This is illustrated most dramatically when He miraculously fed the 5,000 with five barley loaves and two fish, and most meaningfully when He shared the Last Supper with His disciples before His Passion. We also find Jesus continually sharing meals with those He encounters. In the Gospel of Luke alone, there are 10 instances of Christ dining with others. He knows how fundamental and central the meal is to the human race, and He therefore enters into this ritual in order to teach us about His and our own nature: we hunger for food, but we also hunger for more.
We truly hunger for eating to becoming dining -- to be spiritually filled by making Christ present in and through our meal. Jesus dines with tax collectors, sinners, and uninvited hangers on, teaching us that everyone deserves a place at our table -- we should consider no one an “outsider.” Not only does Jesus share meals with the marginalized, He also elevates the meal by asking probing questions and using parables to help people better understand the mysteries of the faith (Luke 14:1-24). This is a great reminder for us that our mealtimes with others can become an occasion to build each other up in fellowship and encouragement through meaningful conversation, prayers of gratitude, and stories shared of truths and lessons learned.
When we see the divine importance of the meal in Scripture and in our daily lives, Thanksgiving is filled with a whole new meaning. To share a special feast of the bounty of the harvest with our loved ones should strike a chord with our divine call as human beings: to make Christ present at our Thanksgiving table. May this year’s Thanksgiving nourish not only our bodies, but also our souls.
On behalf of all of us here at FRC, I wish you and your loved ones a blessed and fruitful Thanksgiving.
[italics and colored emphasis mine]
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When the Pilgrims reaped a bountiful harvest in the fall of 1621 after having first landed in the New World the year before, they instinctually desired to give thanks to God for their blessings by sharing a feast with the Native people. Our country has carried on that tradition ever since, with millions of American families and friends sitting down together to share this symbolic meal every third week in November.
But why is a meal the focal point of Thanksgiving? What makes a meal so meaningful to our human nature? When our stomachs rumble, is it just food that we are hungry for -- or are our hearts also hungry?
Sharing a meal with others has become one of our most basic human traditions. It’s no accident that when we host friends in our homes or go out to celebrate a special occasion, the event is almost always centered around food. Food is an important and intimate part of our lives, not only because we need it to survive, but also because of how often we have an appetite -- it has naturally become a daily ritual to share meals with family and friends for the two-fold benefit of food and fellowship.
When we dig a little deeper, we discover an integral relationship between food and how God designed us to relate to others. As John Cuddeback has written, “The table is a place to be present to one another, in and through our eating.” Cooking, he goes on to say, is the means by which this takes place, and therefore takes on a supernatural meaning: “…to cook is to take care of others; it is to serve them, to give them life, and to love them.” To put this in perspective: our hunger leads to food, food leads to meals, meals lead to friendship, and friendship leads to communion with one another. Not coincidentally, God in His essence is communion itself -- the communion of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When we partake in authentic communion with each other, we are imaging the Trinity.
In the gospels, it is clear that food is a central theme of Christ’s mission. This is illustrated most dramatically when He miraculously fed the 5,000 with five barley loaves and two fish, and most meaningfully when He shared the Last Supper with His disciples before His Passion. We also find Jesus continually sharing meals with those He encounters. In the Gospel of Luke alone, there are 10 instances of Christ dining with others. He knows how fundamental and central the meal is to the human race, and He therefore enters into this ritual in order to teach us about His and our own nature: we hunger for food, but we also hunger for more.
We truly hunger for eating to becoming dining -- to be spiritually filled by making Christ present in and through our meal. Jesus dines with tax collectors, sinners, and uninvited hangers on, teaching us that everyone deserves a place at our table -- we should consider no one an “outsider.” Not only does Jesus share meals with the marginalized, He also elevates the meal by asking probing questions and using parables to help people better understand the mysteries of the faith (Luke 14:1-24). This is a great reminder for us that our mealtimes with others can become an occasion to build each other up in fellowship and encouragement through meaningful conversation, prayers of gratitude, and stories shared of truths and lessons learned.
When we see the divine importance of the meal in Scripture and in our daily lives, Thanksgiving is filled with a whole new meaning. To share a special feast of the bounty of the harvest with our loved ones should strike a chord with our divine call as human beings: to make Christ present at our Thanksgiving table. May this year’s Thanksgiving nourish not only our bodies, but also our souls.
On behalf of all of us here at FRC, I wish you and your loved ones a blessed and fruitful Thanksgiving.
[italics and colored emphasis mine]
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Praying Through the Open Doors World Watch List for persecuted believers:To learn more, please go to -https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/
Focus for November: Praying for Pakistan -It is No. 5 on the 2018 World Watch List and has almost 4 million believers (out of a general population of 197 million). Converts who gather for worship face great risk. They are followed and monitored, and anyone who meets with them is investigated as well. Throughout November, Open Doors is focusing on strengthening our persecuted family in Pakistan.
November 25 | BANGLADESH - Pray with Rijina, a believer and widow with one son who lives in dire poverty and is often harassed by her Muslim community. Despite the struggles, Rijina, 35, remains committed to Jesus.
*Name has been changed to protect identity. |
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