Come to the table…
As a cook, I am a great fan of the school of Low and Slow, giving the ingredients time to talk to each other until they reach deliciousness. Sauces are my forte, a skill honed dreaming up meals for Best Beloved who enjoys just about anything and everything cloaked in a tasty sauce of some kind. He, on the other hand, has become quite the expert bread baker, and we still get excited every time the golden aroma of hot bread fills our kitchen 😊. Consequently, we seldom eat out these days. In my opinion, nothing tastes quite like ‘home-made with love’, and if old age means anything, it means time at last to just sit and talk, eat slowly and revel in the bounty of our table and love.
Years ago, Pete was asked to preside over a wedding in a small Italian town. The setting was picturesque, straight out of a Tuscan painting. The whole wedding party was cramped on a bus, and the journey was long, so we all fell into bed gratefully that night. We had been booked into a quaint hotel off the beaten track and since most of us had never been to Italy before, we were not sure what to expect when we went looking for breakfast. Everyone was ravenous! We were greeted by the gurgle of a busy coffee machine and a table groaning under gleaming carafes of oil and glistening creamy cheeses set next to huge bowls of olives. In the corner of the room was an old barrel. We lifted the lid – it was filled with sweet new wine. NOW we were awake! We laughed and ate our way into the new day, long journey forgotten.
From Genesis to Revelations, the bible is filled with references to food, the preparing and the sharing of it. There are even recipes scattered here and there, all reminders that we humans must eat to stay alive and that fellowship is better than eating alone. I read Psalm 23:5 and my soul leaps with fierce joy when I see that God has prepared a celebration table for me right where I need it most – in the very presence of my enemies.
Today I heard Him saying:
‘Look how much I love you, my child. This table is so laden the enemy can’t miss it!’
‘Here is Bread – My body broken for you, eat of my life.
‘Here is oil – Let me give you the oil of joy for mourning. Let my Spirit anoint you. I want you to leave oily footprints wherever you go.
‘Here is wine – This is my blood, my life poured out for you. Drink it.’
May I invite you to join me today? Although this is my personal banquet table, Father has provided more than enough to share!
