10 things they never told me about Jesus|| Business Lunches

Definitely my favorite chapter so far. There are all of these images and ideas that Jesus was undernourished. Why? Why do people think that? I feel like we always talk about how food and meals were so important in the gospels, yet we still picture Jesus as thin and slender, not to his own choosing. However, what we know about Jewish hospitality tells us that most likely, whenever Jesus went to someone's house for anything (and especially if he was curing people), it wouldn't take long before he would be offered a meal. Bell lists at least 20 occasions when Jesus would have potentially eaten food-- anything from the wedding feast at Cana (John 2) to the breakfast barbecue on the beach (John 21). At this point it would be easy to say that he was well-fed.

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Let's debunk some myths for as to why Jesus would be slender.

1. Jesus walked a lot.|| We have no idea whether or not he traveled more than anyone else at the time.

2. People were undernourished in those days in general.|| Archaeologists have figured that Jesus' daily intake would have been about 1800 calories a day.

3. Jesus must have been an ascetic since he was holy.|| Jesus never alluded to this. (Although I can see Jesus saying that you need not over-indulge... but still.)

4. "He was known as a 'man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, an object from which people turn away their eyes.'" || Nope. That comes from Isaiah 53.. not the gospels. It was a prediction.

5. He is always pictured that way.|| "This is absolutely true, but that doesn't make it right" (99).

6. We need a skinny savior.|| We always picture our heroic figures standing in solidarity with the oppressed by being frugal. Gandhi, yes. Mandela and Tutu, not so much. People have a complex about this

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So food plays an important role in Jesus' life and it should play an important role in ours too. Bell lists 16 parables (from the synoptics) and 10 phrases from Luke's Gospel alone that refer to food. There are several good reasons for eating...

1. Meals bring people to the same level.|| This is why eating with the marginalized was so important... doing something they do with them was important. (And is an important rule for us today too.)

2. Meals are where children could join the adults. || We always get caught up in this kid issue. But it feels wrong whenever the kids have to sit at a different table for Christmas or Thanksgiving. When they can eat with the adults, they feel special... like they fit in.

3. Meals are times of giving and receiving.|| "In all this, [Jesus] allows people to give to him their experiences, their secrets, their stories; for he has come to people to know that God relies on them" (104).

4. "Hospitality is a cardinal virtue... not an optional extra" (105). || God models hospitality for us (Psalm 23:5) and so therefore we should model it as well.

5. Food is a justice issue.|| Luke 12: 13-21, Luke 16:19-31, Matthew 25:31-46---- the rich man who fills his barns with corn, irrespective of other people... the rich mans who fails to alleviate the plight of a poor beggar at the gate.... those who fail to feed the hungry are damned on the day of judgment. "It is present in the contrast between the rich world, where 10-20% of a household income is spent on food, and the poor world, where it is up to 70%. Food is a justice issue" (107).

6. Food is meant for all to enjoy.|| It just is.

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So here we are... Jesus attended lots of business lunches. And ate a lot of food. Because food was important. Meals are important. That fellowship is unbelievably important to church life and communal life.

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Be intentional about meals.

Share fellowship frequently.

Be in community with others at a table.

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For surely if they took away our cross, the table would be the first symbol to go up.