June 21, 2020

Written by Emma Rooker

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Acts 2:42-47

This scripture from the second chapter of the book of Acts provides us with a snapshot of what life in the early church looked like; a first-century illustration of the family of believers and the community in which they lived together. Undoubtedly the landscape of our world, and of the church looks wildly different from what it did then, but one common element remains the same: the communal habit of gathering together over a meal. Growing up as a farm kid, it’s never been lost on me that Jesus took something as simple as food; sustenance provided by an agricultural community, and used it to draw people near to Him and into His family.

Repeatedly in the Gospel narrative, and especially in the book of Luke, Jesus is seen creating sacred space over the dinner table; ministering to the hurting and delivering understanding to the proud, welcoming in every sort of character that entered into His company. The gospel writers describe Jesus as someone who freely extended hospitality, and as someone who was often the recipient of it, sharing in both physical and spiritual nourishment with humanity. His meals shared with those living on the fringes of society were audacious in the eyes of many, and these meals often served as an entry point to the Kingdom of God for many more.

I’ve always been intrigued by the story of the loaves and fishes in the book of John, where in some wide open space, Jesus prepares the table, picnic-style, for a crowd of thousands: men, women and children alike. Not all individuals were there to receive spiritual sustenance, and some had attended only for the theatrical attraction, yet every single one of them was provided for. Not only does Jesus provide for them in this moment, but He does so in abundance, with leftovers to go around. His provision is more than enough, and we strive to live in the reality of this, even in our modern world.

During His ministry, Jesus took something as simple and habitual as a meal, and made a habit to share it with others, with the hope of someday sharing a meal with them in Heaven. As the EPAGA Home Care family, we feel called to follow in His example. Jesus used the simplicity of a meal to live out His simple mission; to seek and to save the lost, and to bridge the divide between opposing sides. It goes without saying that our world is in turmoil as we speak, with colorful opinions flying in all directions. Common ground feels incredibly out of reach, and almost impossible to find. In the time that Jesus walked the earth, He must have often sensed the same about the world, but He nonetheless made a point to create space to be with people from all walks of life. The hardest conversations, the tearful responses, the opposing sides… Jesus brought them all to the dinner table, and gathered them together in the union of His love and undying compassion.

We encourage you to be intentional with the meals you might have the chance to share with someone this week; and to emulate the love of Jesus in doing so. Our prayer for our community is that the tables we gather around would usher in abundant life, and replenish and restore our hearts, and the hearts of those we live in community with. May our dinner tables become spaces that allow both brokenness and blessing to collide, and where the Kingdom will begin to break through. May we continue to meet together, just as the early church did, “devoted to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” May we always make room for one more. And may we press on, even in the midst of the chaos of our world, with intention and care towards those around us, until the day we are gathered together at the banquet table of Heaven, in the presence of Jesus at last, having reclaimed in full our inheritance as the children of God.