Meal of Love

 

One of my many obsessions is cooking shows!  I could be playfully scanning the channels, but go past a cooking show?  Never!  I love to cook!  If I could have had a different career path, it would have been a breakfast/lunch spot.  People would come in and have to make a painful decision between their ‘regular’ favorite or the special of the day!  The wonder of dreaming.

I’m certain I received my love for cooking from my parents.  Many of the favorites we adored as children are still some of my favorites today.  Our family was a ‘have dinner together’ family and I tried my best to instill that in our family of today.  As lives became busier, the intent of sitting together at the family dinner table was important to me, and I hope that my family found it to be important to them as well.  Meals weren’t always fancy – either because of time or money – but the goal was to fill the stomachs and the souls.

As I watched this morning’s show (got to love a good Barefoot Contessa), she mentioned that when she cooks for others, it is a way for her to share her love for those sitting at the table.  How that resonated with me!!  That is exactly how I feel when I cook for others.  True confession – there have been meals that have adorned my table that haven’t necessarily resonated ‘love’ but were more ‘need to eat’.  Yet, I’ve tried to keep those meals to a minimum.

Searching for a verse to support my thought, I came across our verse for today and how very true the words of King Solomon ring!  Meals don’t need to be filled with extravagance.  In fact, many times, simpler is better (as with many things in life)!  What does matter are those that sit next to us and the love we can share with each other.

There is no greater place to look for evidence of that than at the altar for Holy Communion.  There, as we kneel before the cross to receive bread and wine, sitting next to us is our Savior, Jesus.  At the altar, we are able to feast on the forgiveness of our sins and revel in the promise of salvation.  We receive His love as he fills our souls with the promise of tomorrow.  There is no greater gift of love at a table than that of Jesus.

The next time you plan a ‘meal of love’ for family and friends, remember that the essence of the time spent together isn’t in the grand offering on the plate, but the simple love surrounding the table.  That is truly the greatest gift we can offer each other.

Dearest Jesus, thank you for the greatest meal we have ever enjoyed, the meal of Holy Communion.  May we remember the sacrifice you made for our place in heaven as we partake of the bread and wine.  May we humbly come to your table with repentance and lave.  Amen.