A Meal for the Future

They went and found everything just as he had told them, 

and they prepared the Passover meal. 

When the time came, Jesus took his place at the table, 

and the apostles joined him. 

He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you 

before I suffer. I tell you, I won’t eat it until it is fulfilled in God’s kingdom.”

Luke 22:13-16 CEB

This week brings to one of the favored holidays in American culture: Thanksgiving. In most homes, it’s celebrated with food. Even folks like me (single, with little or no family close by), seek out a meal with friends—or just at a cozy restaurant—to eat among others and be thankful for our blessings big and small. No matter what the “fixin’s” (as we say in the South), the point of the meal is think beyond ourselves, to be grateful for the past and hopeful for the future.

But celebrating with food goes far beyond a single holiday in one country. Throughout the New Testament, Jesus gathered around tables to enjoy fellowship—and food—with those who loved Him. He ate with Matthew (Matt. 9) and fed the 5,000 (Matt. 14). What a celebration that must have been! He ate with Simon, and in the verses above, from Luke 22, Jesus sat down with His disciples for the Passover, also called the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This would become the ultimate meal of thanksgiving…and hope.

Tomorrow, I’ll travel about an hour north of Nashville to gather with my daughter and her caregiver, Phyllis. Phyllis’s sister Marti and her son Kingston will join us. We’ll have ham, sweet potatoes, veggies, and dessert. We’ll laugh and argue, pray and say thanks. The year has not been easy for any of us, and harder than most for two of us. The struggles won’t go away because of good food or prayer or the salvation we all believe in.

But because of that one meal held so long ago, we see that God’s love feeds us in a way that food cannot. He will provide the strength and wisdom to persevere, and the faith in an unseen future.

And for that, we are eternally grateful.