Sep 9, 2016
Luke 15:1-10 Direct audio download: Click here
These days a meal can be “just a meal”, like a bowl of cerial before we rush off somewhere, or it can be a celebration like when we celebrate someone’s birthday. In Jesus time there was no such thing as “just a meal”. Every meal was “more than just a meal” it was about relationships. Everyone you ate with was officially your friend and so you tried to be careful about who you ate with. If you ate with tax collectors and sinners you were considered no be like them. When Jesus ate with people like this he was saying these people are God’s friends.
Today as we celebrate the birthday of St Stephen’s Toowoomba Meals on Wheels we are celebrating “more than just” subsidised meals being distributed. We are celebrating relationships formed between volunteers, clients and staff. We are celebrating God’s love, and human love and care shared with people who need support. Just like Jesus with the tax collectors and the sinners, we are saying that these people are loved by God, they are valuable. Not just the needy clients, but our volunteers, our staff and our committee are included in this love.
Questions for thought and discussion
How do you react to the idea that Jesus shared more that just meal
when he ate with others? Who could you eat with or share food with
who may especially need to know that they are loved?