A Holy Mystery. What Does the World Need Now?

In honor of Canada’s 150th anniversary, the President’s Choice food brand produced a commercial and social media campaign that struck a deep chord, simultaneously asking and answering the question “What does the world need now?”

It was based on this idea:

“When we eat together, good things happen. Whether it’s poutine, pad thai, paella, or pemmican. Nothing brings us together like eating together.”

We highly suggest taking the time to watch it.

THE BEAUTY OF EATING TOGETHER

Something wonderful does happen when we choose to eat with someone else. Or at the very least, it sets the stage for the possibility.

When it comes to breaking down the isolation and barriers that exist in today’s society, love is what the world needs now—especially Jesus’ love—and there may not be any better way for a believer to begin to share it than over a simple meal.

Will you eat with someone? Break bread?

JESUS. THE ORIGINAL MARKETER?

Jesus certainly knew what a good feast was all about—and it was he who established that it would be while eating that he would reveal to his first disciples who he really was.

Right before he died, at his last supper, he broke bread and shared a cup with his good friends with instructions to continue that pattern for the purpose of remembering him. And after his resurrection, it was when he ate once again with his disciples that they recognized him.

Food and an ordinary meal was what he chose to leave us with as a symbol of his great love, his ultimate sacrifice for us. Take. Eat. Have me. Have more of me, he seemed to be saying. And when we do this—focusing on Jesus and how he gave himself for us—we continue to know him deeper.

Even if we’re not wholly aware of this impact on us.

It seems that when a believer chooses to share his or her table with someone else, it could open the way for others to enter this holy mystery. After all, Jesus is in us. When we share a meal, perhaps the close interactions allow him to be seen more clearly. Perhaps conversations about God are likely to open up more naturally. Perhaps it’s just the time spent together—as Jesus spent three years with his first disciples—that provides a foundation for future conversations about him.

Who might God be calling you to eat with?