Big, Life Changing, Radical Challenge

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. –Acts 2:42

When he [Jesus] was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. –Luke 24:30-31

Dear Ones,

I have a challenge for you, a spiritual discipline I’m going to ask you to take on. Each and every member of this congregation, and our “friends of Grace” and regular visitors too.

I’m going to use my biggest pastoral voice to ask you, as strongly as I can, to do this. I’m going to sound almost like a preacher of a different tradition in promising you that, if members of our congregation do this one thing, our congregation will be better for it. Do I have the authority to ask you to do this one thing for your congregation? What would you be willing to do for your own spiritual life, and for the life of this church?

It’s a big, crazy thing I’m about to ask you… Radical things happen when you do it… There is a serious risk that your life could be changed if you do... Are you still willing?

If I’m your pastor, and you trust me, this is what I want you to do: I want you to sit down and break bread together. I want you to invite your friends on Sunday morning into your homes; I want you to invite someone you don’t know out to a meal. I want you to spend time with each other!

Lunch bunch group already engages in this holiest of spiritual disciplines. (Did you know your lunches are holy? They are!) Sometimes we have sacred potlucks. And some of you invite each other into your homes, but not enough!

Now, let’s be real. Not all of us, in fact, not many of us, are upper-middle class folks. A few of us don’t even have homes to invite others to. I’m not talking about fancy dinner parties with expensive roasts and fancy wines, on your best china. I’m talking about sharing whatever you eat for dinner normally- macaroni and cheese or tabouli or McDonald’s. Some of you might live far away from each other, and might find that sharing food at church before or after a service is the best way for you to do this.

I want you to listen to each other, talk to each other, hang out with each other, and expect a miracle: when Christians break bread together, we discover Jesus in our midst. I’m not sure how this happens, I just know that it does. The early church discovered it, congregations throughout time have recognized it, and sometimes we catch glimpses of it too.

Realizing Jesus in our midst changes things, for us as people, and for us as a congregation. Eating together is one of the spiritual disciplines that helps that happen. Let’s try it!

Pastor Lura