Adam and Eve ate a meal without God and communion with God was lost. After Jesus is raised from the dead we read about a moment where it seems to be a sense of deliberate reversal of this spiritual blindness. A meal with God restores communion and awareness of who Jesus is.
Luke 24:30-35 When he was at the table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” 33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. ESV
There is something significant and even sacred about an authentic table experience. When Jesus wanted to explain to His disciples what His death was all about, He didn’t give them an informative lecture. He gave them a relational meal. The Gospel is the progression of the three most favorite phrases people love to hear, “I love you”, “You’re forgiven” and “Lets eat”. For God so loved the world that He sent His Son to forgive us and Revelations 3 speaks of how we enter into relationship with God and eat with Him as our way of life.
In the context of a meal, people more readily recognize Christ. This is God’s plan for all of us, to know Him and to be aware of Him everywhere we go. Everywhere we go we bring God’s Presence To Real Life.
This is a year of going deeper in the Lord. Beware because you cannot go deep if you do not slow down. You will not go deep if you do not slow down. When I begin speaking about slowing down it is amazing how many people simply dismiss what I’m saying concluding that I’m simply out of touch. Any time we become more evangelized by the world than we are by God’s Word we will believe God’s instructions no longer align with our reality. We are told in Romans 12 that we are to be transformed by God’s Word rather than being conformed to the patterns of this world.
George Ritzer has termed “McDonaldization” as the process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurants dominate society. McDonald’s serves people in a hurry very well. The systemized food serving industry accommodates those interested in the fast-paced experience of just grabbing something to put in their system without any real thought or consideration of its nourishing value or the lack thereof. The food and the atmosphere are not accommodating to deeper more meaningful experiences in life. That’s just not McDonald’s intended purpose.
This McDonaldization has had a profound impact on the church. Influential leaders have industrialized and systematized “ministry” as a commodity in many ways, making church growth the primary objective - regardless of the cost to true discipleship.
"Fast food style church experiences" serve people in a hurry very well. The systemized Christianity serving industry accommodates those interested in the fast-paced experience of just grabbing something to put in their spiritual system without any real thought or consideration of its nourishing value or the lack thereof.
This is not judgment against you, it's just reality. If you do not sacrificially make time for life-giving practices like solitude, prayer and authentic community with other believers, then you simply do not take your spiritual life seriously. It takes time and energy to invest in the things that matter to God.
It is ineffective to embrace the message of Jesus yet abandon His method of delivering it. A shared meal is the most basic expression of hospitality and this could be the activity most closely tied to the reality of God’s kingdom. To make room for others in a meaningful way is to demonstrate to them that they matter to you. This is the way we say, “I love you” revealing Jesus who “forgives” by saying to them, “Let’s eat”.
Everywhere we go, we bring…
GP2RL: Nobody eats alone today. Let’s all go with someone for a meal.
Knowing Jesus in the Breaking of Bread
DISCUSSION GUIDE
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UNDERSTANDING THE SEASON: A shared meal could be the activity most closely tied to the reality of God’s kingdom, just as it is the most basic expression of hospitality. It comes as no surprise that many significant stories of Jesus are centered around a dinner table.
When Jesus wanted to explain to His disciples what his death was all about, he didn’t give them an informative lecture. He gave them a relational meal.
In a society that has grown so relationally disconnected, an invitation to Biblical hospitality might be one of the most compelling and irresistible aspects of Christianity. The heart of hospitality is about creating space for someone to feel seen and heard and loved. It’s about declaring your table a safe zone, a place of warmth and nourishment.
Great encouragement comes from rehearsing God’s Word. It is God’s plan for us to spend time drawing close to His heart and hearing His voice together as a family. This is why we start each meeting with this question first:
DISCUSSION QUESTION:
1. Where are you reading in your Bible and what are you sensing from God?
Ask each person in your group to answer the discussion questions below after reading the verses. Realize there is great power in just reading the Bible together and allowing the Holy Spirit to awaken his conversational nature in the group.
Luke 24:30-35 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” 33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. ESV
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
2. Have each person give a 60 second summary of what these verses are saying, in their own words.
3. What do these verses teach us about God?
4. What do these verses teach us about people?
5. What should you do this week in response to what we are reading and what God is revealing?
6. Who comes to mind when considering a person you might share this with this week?
Everywhere we go, we bring...
GP2RL: Nobody eats alone today. Let’s all go with someone for a meal.