Show Notes
In this sixth week of Lent, we reflect on Jesus’ final meal with his disciples, and how we can use our own mealtimes and places of gathering to share the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
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Episode Transcript
In this final week of Lent, like weary travelers, we look forward with heightened anticipation to the refreshment and renewal that awaits us at the end of our journey of sober reflection and repentance. Having been reminded of the depths of our need, we prepare ourselves to celebrate the heights to which we have been raised through His death and resurrection.
A reading from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 22, beginning in verse 14.
When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”
After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!” They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.
A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me.”
G.K. Chesterton once said that every man who goes to a house of ill repute is looking for God there. And the same could be said to be true for most of us who visit a restaurant or a coffee shop. We’re not just there to be fed, but to connect. There is something intimate and potentially holy as we sit and eat or drink together.
It’s not insignificant that Jesus chose a meal time during which to reveal the depths of his love for his disciples at the Last Supper. Little likely did the owner of that upper room know that he was providing the environment for such a sacred moment. That may also be the case for many of the restaurant and coffee shop owners in our communities, but their contribution to our social fabric is worth celebrating and appreciating.
Along with other venues like bars and bookstores, restaurants and coffee shops provide what sociologist Ray Oldenburg famously called third spaces, probably the most significant places for social interaction behind work and home. Many of us took that contribution for granted until it was removed during the COVID lockdowns. Only then did we realize what we had.
What if you viewed your favorite coffee spot or dining location, not just as a functional venue, but as an embryonic church? And note that while there are around 350,000 churches across the United States, there are twice as many restaurants and coffee shops. How might your view of those who open their doors change? And how might you enter those spaces with more of a sense of reverent anticipation. Not only did Jesus pour out his love for his disciples over a final meal, he also revealed himself through one after the resurrection. Remember how the disciples who met him on the road to Emmaus only recognized their risen Lord as he broke bread with them. May we seek the same eye-opening opportunities as we sit at a table with others.
A reading from Isaiah, chapter 50, verses 4 through 9.
The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue,
to know the word that sustains the weary.
He wakens me morning by morning,
wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.
The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears;
I have not been rebellious,
I have not turned away.
I offered my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;
I did not hide my face
from mocking and spitting.
Because the Sovereign Lord helps me,
I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,
and I know I will not be put to shame.
He who vindicates me is near.
Who then will bring charges against me?
Let us face each other!
Who is my accuser?
Let him confront me!
It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me.
Who will condemn me?
They will all wear out like a garment;
the moths will eat them up.
Almighty God, you created us not just to hunger for food, but to hunger for connection with one another and ultimately with you. Give us eyes to see where and how you might want to reveal yourself in the third spaces we frequent in our communities. Help us to recognize the opportunities that you, the living bread who came down from heaven and was broken for us, provide for spiritual as well as physical nourishment and refreshment and help us to use them to invite others into celebrating your great gift of salvation. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
And finally a reading from Paul’s letter to the Philippians chapter 2 verses 5 through 11.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
