It’s Not About the Food
by Carlos Ingles
In the Bible there are many examples of people gathering around food. In the Old Testament the holidays were often related to eating food, such as lamb, bread, and bitter herbs. At Passover Jesus himself participated in a meal with his disciples. On another occasion, when the disciples were all together, the risen Jesus appeared to them in the middle of a meal and then asked for a fish to eat.
For the disciples of Jesus Christ, however, the most important thing is not the food, but the sharing with others. Here at Impact on the last Sunday evening of every month the brothers who speak Spanish gather to eat together. Each person brings some food. Beyond the food, however, is fellowship. They talk, meet, share and make a community.
In this society and in the rhythm of life people always tend to be very busy. We have, however, set aside this time to build relationships and develop bonds of friendship. We often tend to judge others merely because we do not know them, but when we talk we get to know and understand each other better. Our negative judgment often disappears because we recognize that we are all struggling to be better.
On the last Sunday of 2019 we met at our new building at Lindale to have a meal, to say goodbye to the year and to thank God for the new building. The main objective, of course, was to have communion with one another – to live together, talk and get closer to each other. Since we know that it is not really about the food, if someone is not able to bring food it is not a problem. The person is the most important thing because when we meet we look at Jesus in one other. We foster friendship, fellowship and the spiritual vision that is achieved from knowing Jesus in the other.
Beginning on the last Sunday of this month we plan to get together every last Sunday evening for a potluck meal at Lindale at 6 pm. We will worship in two languages and we will see diversity in every single face. If you want to meet someone and talk I invite you to come and share it with us!
