September 8, 2024

Acts 2:37-47, The Message

Rev. Kristen J. Kleiman

Despite what you may have heard, I did not go into the ordained ministry for the cheesecake. It was lemon squares. I just graduated up to cheesecake when I was called here to FCC Bristol.

Honestly though, there was a time when I didn’t know where you could get a lemon square if you weren’t at a church event, and I really like lemon squares.

The food though that is my all time favorite is crème horns. They are top of my list of foods I do not want to share, and yet I do share them, but that’s only because it’s usually my mother or sister who finds and buys them. So really, I’m very grateful they are willing to share with me.

What is that food for you? What is your all time favorite food? The one people give you as a thank you or as a bribe to get you to help them move their couch?

I would love for you to turn and share with someone sitting around you. For those online, please share in the Facebook comments. What is your all time favorite food?

And while you are talking – who do you love sharing that food with?

Eating is essential to the survival of our bodies. Eating together though is essential to our survival as Christians. In his book, I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church!, the Rev. Paul Nixon states that eating together is “non-negotiable” for the Christian community. He writes, “In Acts 2, sharing meals is the only component of the early church’s life that is mentioned twice.” (Nixon, pg 40).

Many churches sheepishly talk about how often they eat together: choir pasta dinners, potlucks, pancake suppers, refreshments after worship each week. They talk about eating together as if it’s something to be embarrassed about; when instead, it is a core way we are Christ’s community.

Eating together seems too simple though to be an essential spiritual practice. How can eating together help us “get out of this sick and stupid culture” (Acts 2:40) to quote The Message’s version of Peter’s words? How can eating together heal us, bring us hope, open us up to a new life?

Powerful things happen when we eat together. When we eat together, when we intentionally eat together, there is more going on than the food.

When I eat with my family or my church family, I am more likely to slow down. I am more likely to give thanks for the food before me. I am more likely to pause and remember that I am so lucky to have this food, to have this abundance of food, that nourishes my body, sustains my activities, and delights my taste buds. Eating together reminds us of how God provides, of how much God loves us.

And when I eat with others, I feel more connected to them. Over a shared meal, we have the opportunity to share about our life, about the ups and downs of our day, about what fascinated us and what brought us sorrow.

This week, Chris A. sent me a quote from the “He Gets Us” campaign: “Jesus knew that dividing lines make everyone look like an enemy, but a shared meal can remind us of our humanity.”

A shared meal reminds us of our humanity. When we eat together, we are heard. We are seen. We share more than the food before us. We share hopes; we share ideas; we share dreams. And hopefully, we share understanding. A shared meal has the power to erase dividing lines and create connections, create community.

It’s why Jesus ate with so many different people. Jesus ate with friends; Jesus ate with large crowds of people; Jesus ate with people who others judged unworthy; Jesus ate with people who judged him unworthy. Jesus joyfully shared food and drink at a wedding; Jesus solemnly shared his last meal with his friends and disciples.

So it is no surprise that Jesus’ community would embrace eating together. It is no surprise that they would prioritize sitting down together to share about their lives, to see one another, really see one another, to listen and share and connect and honor one another’s humanity.

And they didn’t just do it out of obligation. They didn’t do it because everyone has to eat so they might as well eat together. No, every meal they shared was “a celebration, exuberant and joyful” (Acts 2:46-47) Every meal they ate together was a party, a joyful thanksgiving meal, because they were blessed by God to have food on their table; because they were blessed to be reminded that we matter; we are not alone. We belong to this Christian community; we belong to a wider community. We belong to God. (We belong to God.)

That is powerfully healing and hopeful. We matter. We matter enough for someone to gift us with their time. They matter enough to be the recipient of our time. We are not alone. We belong to a community, and we belong to God.

When Peter invited the crowd to “get out of this sick and stupid culture!” (Acts 2:40) and to receive the new life that comes from following the God of love we know through Jesus Christ, Peter was inviting them into this life, a life in which they would know that they mattered; that they were not alone; that they were loved and provided for by our God Most High.

It boggles our minds sometimes that 3,000 people heard Peter’s words and said yes to his invitation, said yes to healing, to hope, to a new life in Christ, to a new life as part of Christ’s community.

Really, though, it shouldn’t surprise us if that number was much higher, because think of all of the people in our world who are searching for hope, searching for healing, seeking to get out of this way of life that is constantly pushing us to do more and telling us we aren’t enough. So many people, the whole world over, are searching for hope, for healing, for new life.

And just like the church in Acts 2, our church community has the ability to invite people to step out of the unhealthy status quo and step into a new and renewing life of health and hope.

And simple as it is, one of the ways to change lives and the world is to eat together. To intentionally eat together. With the family you like and the family you don’t like. The friend you know and the neighbor you don’t know yet. Eat with others at Game Night, at Men’s Fellowship, and Ladies’ Night out. Make time for fellowship refreshments after worship each week. Sit and share yourself as you share in the food. Make connections; pour out Christ’s spirit on someone else; open yourself to Christ’s spirit being poured out on you; be a blessing.

Eating together, intentionally eating together, whether at the church picnic or during this communion meal, has the power to heal, the power to bless, the power to offer hope and new life as we turn every meal into a exuberant and joyful celebration, praising God, who loves us all unconditionally. Amen.