{"id":405,"date":"2018-08-15T12:37:22","date_gmt":"2018-08-15T19:37:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/joepuentes\/?p=405"},"modified":"2018-08-15T12:46:43","modified_gmt":"2018-08-15T19:46:43","slug":"meals-of-jesus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/joepuentes\/2018\/08\/meals-of-jesus\/","title":{"rendered":"Never Eat Alone: A Lesson From the Meals of Jesus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

As far as we can tell from the gospels, meals were extremely important to Jesus. He rarely ate alone. We often rush through our meal times not thinking about the opportunities we have to truly get to know someone or let someone get to know us. Food is the great equalizer. It levels the playing field. It disarms any inhibitions or fears. And food has a way of cultivating love and harmony.<\/h4>\n

Two eggs. I know it seems kind\u2019ve strange, but two eggs showed something about my heart I had suspected for sometime\u200a\u2014\u200aI\u2019m selfish.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the story:<\/h4>\n

On a typical day after waking up, I\u2019ll go for a walk, and my walk is about two miles long. I spend most of the walk praying and planning out the day. One particular day, while I was on my walk I became hungry, and all I could think of was eggs and corn tortillas.<\/p>\n

\"people<\/a>
HERE\u2019S THE STORY\u2026 On a typical day after waking up, I go for a walk. My walk is about two miles long, and I spend most of the walk praying and planning out the day. One particular day, while I was on my walk I became hungry, and all I could think of was eggs and corn tortillas.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Upon opening the refrigerator, I saw there were only two eggs, but no corn tortillas. I admit I became agitated because there were no tortillas. After mumbling to myself, it hit me\u200a\u2014\u200athere wasn\u2019t enough eggs to feed everyone. And I became even more agitated.<\/p>\n

So I did what comes natural\u200a\u2014\u200aI started preparations to make the eggs for myself. If I hurried, I could cook the two eggs and eat them before anyone became aware of what had happened.<\/p>\n

BOX OF WAFFLE MIX.<\/h4>\n

As I reached into the cupboard for the cooking oil, my hand wrapped around a box of waffle mix. I\u2019m a sucker for waffles, with berries and honey.<\/p>\n

The recipe calls for two eggs. I stood there for several minutes trying to talk myself out of sacrificing my two eggs to the waffle mix. It was one of those me-against-them inner dialogue conversations.<\/p>\n

\"breakfast<\/a>
We often rush through our meal times not thinking about the opportunities we have to truly get to know someone or let someone get to know us. Food is the great equalizer. It levels the playing field. It disarms any inhibitions or fears. And food has a way of cultivating love and harmony.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I became overwhelmed with conviction\u200a\u2014\u200amaking waffles for my family needed to happen. And it was the right decision\u200a\u2014\u200awe sat down and shared a meal together.<\/p>\n

We were full; with not only a delicious meal of waffles, berries, and honey\u200a\u2014\u200abut also with the deep meaningful conversations that came out of us eating together.<\/p>\n

The alternative would have been eating two eggs by myself in a secretive frenzy before anyone else got out of bed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When everyone finished and the dishes and leftovers were cleaned up, I lamented my selfishness for wanting to eat alone.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when I remembered the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand with the loaves and fish. Jesus had compassion on them\u200a\u2014\u200ahe didn\u2019t want to send them away to find food for themselves.<\/p>\n

Jesus had the multitudes of people stick around so they could share a meal. He took five loaves of bread and two fish and fed thousands of people.
\nIt hit me how important meals were to Jesus. If you look at the gospels, you\u2019ll find Jesus preferred to never eat alone, and because of this Jesus influenced a multitude of people. Some of the most significant events in Jesus life centered on people and meals.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a quick look at nine meals of Jesus found in Luke\u2019s gospel\u200a\u2014\u200ain Luke\u2019s Gospel Jesus is going to a meal, at a meal or coming from a meal.<\/p>\n

Nine Meals of Jesus in Luke\u2019s Gospel (Eating Your Way Through Luke\u2019s Gospel by Robert Karris):<\/h5>\n