There are a lot of things I miss about the church I grew up in – seeing my aunts, uncles, and cousins on a regular basis is pretty high on the list – but those fellowship meals are some of my fondest memories.
Of course it was wonderful to spend time with all the members of the church, but…the food…
the food…
the FOOD!
That’s what I miss! Yes…I was raised Baptist. Baptist need to eat. Together. Often.
I always looked forward to Sister Betty Stewart’s Frito salad stuff. I don’t know what all was in it, but it was soooo good. My Aunt Barbara would make this wonderful mandarin orange cake, and my cousin Tina always brought cherry yum-yum. Mmmm…yum-yum! And there’s more – I’m sure you have some favorite dishes from your own church’s fellowships.
I have tried to recreate some of these dishes that I always looked forward to, but it’s never the same. It’s not just the taste either, although the taste is never quite right no matter how I mess with the recipe, the culinary ingredients can be the exact same as Sister Stewart, Aunt Barbara, and my cousin Tina used. Still…something’s off.
What’s Really Missing?
While I do miss the actual taste of Tina’s cherry yum-yum, what I truly long for is the filling of my soul that such a day would bring. The study of God’s Word, singing together in praise, preaching the Gospel, and the gathering to eat and fellowship with those particular people. Such a glorious time!
Some Christians today don’t understand the real value of spending quality time with their brothers and sisters in Christ and sharing a meal together.
Some of the most important lessons Jesus taught us revolved around a meal:
- Martha preparing for a visit from Jesus
- Jesus’ first miracle
- The Last Supper
Martha Preparing for a Visit From Jesus
In Luke 10:38-42 we see while Martha is distracted by the many things she is doing to prepare a meal for Jesus, she is missing the most important thing…Jesus! He’s right there in front of you! Your sister is sitting at His feet talking to Him and listening to Him. She gets it. Don’t let yourself be distracted by the details or the chaos. Find the balance or you will miss the miracle right in front of you. Jesus is here…fellowship with Him.
Lesson: Relish Jesus; He is the most important thing
Jesus’ First Miracle
It’s never escaped me that Jesus chose to perform His first miracle at a wedding feast (John 2). What a celebration it must have been! Here Jesus was with friends and family – eating and drinking together – and He chose to enrich the festive occasion by blessing it with more wine. Joy, laughter, fellowship. What a party! From that water Jesus made the best wine ever. I fantasize about what it tasted like. Jesus wine. There would be nothing else like it on earth…EVER! I would have loved to have been there with Jesus at a wedding celebration. Just imagine. Well, while I wasn’t at this first wedding…I will be at the last one. Now that…that’s gonna be a celebration! Good thing I already RSVP’d.
Lesson: Jesus provides abundantly
The Last Supper
The Passover meal Jesus shared with His disciples is described in all four of the canonical Gospels, but in Luke 22 we see how much it meant to Jesus to fellowship together and eat as He teaches them some of His final lessons:
When the hour came, he reclined at the table, and the apostles with him. Then he said to them, “I have fervently desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. For I tell you, from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
And he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way he also took the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
It was the FERVENT desire of the heart of Jesus to share the meal with His disciples. FERVENT. I can’t imagine a stronger word. He wanted nothing more than to be together with them and share that meal.
Lesson: Remember Jesus; He is the new covenant; He gave His life for us
What’s in it for You?
When we as a church gather around a table our focus is on one another. We share the experience together. We grow spiritually. We laugh, talk, teach, discuss, celebrate…whatever. We feed our souls. We do as Jesus did, and in so doing He feeds us with His very Self. He is the Bread of Life and the Living Water. His birth in Bethlehem was no coincidence. In the Hebrew language Bethlehem means, “The House of Bread”. Those who eat of Him and drink of Him shall never hunger or thirst again.
“I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “No one who comes to me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in me will ever be thirsty again, (John 6:35).
Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again. In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up in him for eternal life.,” (John 4:13-14).
The born-again Christian has eaten the Bread of Life and drank from the Living Water. While we are still in this life, we crave Jesus. We find Him through our personal studies and prayer but there is something very powerful about coming together with brothers and sisters in Christ and experiencing Him. We aren’t meant to always be alone. Turn to Jesus as your example. While He did spend time by Himself that was much needed and necessary, just look at all the time He spent with the disciples and His followers. There’s a lesson there. I’ll leave it to you to glean from it whatever God lays upon your heart.
Precious Memories
Now, don’t get me wrong, I have shared many fellowship meals since moving away from the church where I grew up. All of them are great blessings to me and I look forward to them immensely. In the years following my move, some of the members have been laid to rest and the church has since closed. The memories of the fellowship and love we all shared are precious to me now.
Would someone please tell my cousin Tina to make me a dish of cherry yum-yum? It’s worth the 4-hour trip, Girl!
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God bless you!
So true. Last week my husband’s sister died. We had the “family meal” at the church following the services. My husband and I discussed how necessary that meal is in providing support and fellowship, of renewing love and bonding of his large family in the loss of one of us. This post was very timely in our lives. Thank you and God bless this wonderful ministry.
I am so sorry for your loss, Pat. We will pray for you all. Thank you for the love and support of our ministry. God bless you.