Finding God in Ordinary Things:
A Meal
Two strangers shared a small table and
conversation over lunchtime sandwiches in a busy fast food
restaurant – he a husband and father of two and she a
widow with a dozen grandchildren.
It was a far cry from the family meals we
remember from our childhood and which many families still
achieve at least part of the time despite their hectic
lifestyles. Yet it was, nevertheless, a meal.
Our meals today take many shapes and
forms. We may be in a restaurant, at a buffet, in a
cafeteria line, in a college or military dining hall, in a
retirement center dining room, at home – whether it be a
house, condo or apartment – and maybe even a soup
kitchen. Our food may be served on everything from fine
china to disposable plates and wrappers.
While television’s extended Walton
family squeezed around the farm kitchen table may be an ideal
family meal, today many of us routinely share our meal time
with friends, co-workers, classmates, and fellow residents.
A good number of people also often eat alone. And
although nuclear and extended family meals still exist, the
term “family meal” can also apply to two adult
sisters eating in a restaurant or two brothers cooking fish
over a campfire.
Regardless of where or with whom we eat,
all meals share a common purpose – sustenance.
This, however, goes far beyond merely consuming food to
sustain our bodies. Much more than food is served and
shared at a meal. Through our presence and our
conversation at the table, we
also share ourselves with our meal
companions. We seek and find sustenance for our souls
through one another.
 | ||
That is why, as often as possible, we tend
to linger at the table long after the food is consumed, sharing
conversation and enjoying each other. It matters not
whether we engage in serious or idle conversation, tell stories
from the past or focus on the current events, laugh or cry.
It is the togetherness and the sharing that we need and crave.
What we are really tapping into during
these mealtime moments is God living within each of us.
It is God’s love that we need for sustenance and
which we crave. And it is God’s love that we find,
whether our meal companion is a family member or friend, a
co-worker or acquaintance, a stranger or the author of the book
we read as we eat alone.
There is no consecrated bread or wine at
our meal table but we, nonetheless, consume God who comes to us
through others. And God comes to each of us in whatever
form we need at the moment. A friend provides
understanding or a safe place to vent our feelings. A
co-worker lends a listening ear and support. A resident
in our dorm or retirement center or the author of the book we
read opens our eyes to new insight. A stranger exposes us
to a different experience. A family member gives us
unconditional love.
Whether we are doing our weekly family
meal planning, browsing through the prepared meals in our
freezer, or studying a restaurant menu, we choose the food for
our body. But God knows the needs of our soul and selects
the perfect sustenance. We can never be certain whom God
will choose to deliver food for our soul or when the delivery
will be made, but a meal often provides the right setting and
the perfect opportunity. Indeed, the gifts for which we
give thanks at mealtime are often far greater than the food on
the table.
