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Dinner for Two
There are few things Cindy and I enjoy more than lingering long over a sumptuous dinner, surrounded by friends, talking, laughing and hanging out late into the night. So it’s no wonder to me that in the last 48 hours of Jesus earthly ministry he chooses to have dinner with his closest friends. Was the upper room filled with the fine ambiance of a five star restaurant? Was the food and wine that great in the Upper Room Bistro? Was the service so good that they were all made to feel like kings? Hardly. It wasn’t the dinner rolls that Jesus anticipated. It was the friends.
Jesus told them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you…”. Literally it would read “I have desired with desire”. Jesus had spent three years physically living with these guys. Jesus, the Messiah, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, the Word, the Son of the Living God, the Friend that sticks closer than a brother. Yet, despite their pettiness, their thick headedness, their selfishness and all of the other -nesses, HE desired – with desire – THEIR company at dinner. Astounding! Humbling.
But He had some important things to say to his chosen twelve – no light dinner conversation, to be sure. He told them of his pending suffering and death. He mediated arguments between them. He confronted Peter with the shallowness of his commitment. And he told them that one of them would be the catalyst for his execution. Are you surprised by his choice of subject matter? But isn’t this is how you talk with you most intimate friends? You go deep. Personally, I would have lost my appetite. But that’s just my fear of the deep.
In the middle of all this bad news he says “I will not eat it (the Passover dinner) again until it (the Passover, the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world) finds its fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”
Beyond all of the suffering, beyond all of the pain and disappointment, beyond our sin and our standoffishness from our Creator, is the Great Hope. Paul asks of the Thessalonians “… what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you?”. That’s a rhetorical question… The answer is YES, it’s you.
Dinner for 2. You and Jesus in the coming kingdom. He is ESPECIALLY fond of you.
He has called us “friends!” It’s not as much the food but who you are with, where you are, the time together, and the conversation. Can’t wait.
Family dinners are a foundational part of being a Crosland and also a Bates(my maiden name.) The joke growing up was during one meal we were enjoying planning the next meal. Always thinking about food. When the kids started to leave and miss meals I missed them. The really cool thing about Jesus is he wants to eat with us.He wants to feed us.I think of the name of this blogg thing Feed one Another and rejoice at coming together with my brothers and sisters at God’s banquet table. Have a wonderful wet day rejoicing you have been feed.
One of my greatest joys is cooking for people and sitting down to a meal. It is not the meal that it important to me. It is that I have given them something to warm their bellies and in turn we have a great time of communication. It is the same here. When we get to heaven, I will be one of the those in the kitchen, chopping and stirring and tending to pots and pans. Then, watching with joy the people eating the food and using that time as communal.
I will see you there, I hope you have confirmed your reservation.
Jon,
Thanks for the reminder of how Jesus desires the same type of relationship we desire. To be able to sit at a table and share a great meal and just enjoy the time in each others company. Like you and Cindy, Megan and I go out of our way to create opportunities to invite friends over for dinner so that we can get to know them better. What a great way to serve them while deepening relationships.
Dinner for eight anytime soon? Have your boss call my boss.
We’d like that, Mr. Frank.
Jon,
Treasures may be found in the depths. Thanks for your honesty and a reminder that He is what our hunger wants to feast on if our appetites will get out of the way.