Reflection
Every time I eat, I am reminded not
only of the goodness of God in providing for me but also my humanity.
I eat because I hunger. All human beings are created by God and have
a common need for food. When I eat, not only I rejoice in the fact
that I am blessed that I can enjoy good food but the experience of
eating itself should remind me to be humble before God and fellowman.
At least three times a day, I can remind myself that I am mortal and
that I am in constant need of sustenance and grace from God. Another
truth that I learn is that when I eat I admit that I am equal with
any fellow human beings. Eating should make me feel equal with
everybody else. Sometimes I notice that I eat usually with someone I
consider “equal”, someone who is just like me in qualification,
profession, liking and age. Sometimes the preference for eating with
certain “groups” of people is there. Through this module I am
challenged by the Holy Spirit to fellowship over food even with
people I don't usually mix with. I may eat different from what he
eats, but the fact that we both eat, though we are different in many
aspects, we are equal in the sight of God and should be equal too in
our own sight.
Usually like eats with like. Eating is a gesture acceptance in the New Testament. With whom the people eat, tells us of their
economic, social and even religious status. I am reminded that Jesus
in the Gospel, eats with everyone. He is very different from the
religious Pharisees. They only eat with their kind. To protect their
purity, they must keep themselves from certain people. But Jesus eats
with everyone, even those with questionable character. Would I want
to eat with this kind of people? Am I embracing them just as Jesus
has embraced them? Grace removes all social barriers and welcome all
into God's Kingdom. It is not because grace ignores sin but it deals
with it on the cross. Our sins have been paid for on the cross.
Forgiveness is now available to whosoever, including those people I
am not comfortable with. As I meditate on this truth, I am challenged
by the Holy Spirit to relook at my attitude. As a minister of the
Gospel, I am supposed to embrace all, but sometimes I don't. I would
say that I value all, but my attitude says otherwise. I need to
depend more on His love to mould me and empower me to love the way
Jesus loves, to welcome others the way He does. I know I am growing
in this area, but there is still a long way to go. Why does Jesus eat
with everyone? It is meant to teach me something about Him. I thank
God that through this module, I can see even more clearly the
attitude of Christ my Savior towards all people.
I gain an understanding about the
difference between tolerance and being hospitable. I used to think
that they mean the same. When I am tolerant towards someone, I
actually keep my distance away from him. I may not criticize or harm
him in any way. I may not interfere with his views but I keep him
outside of my box. Also by being tolerant means I occupy a place of
power – I occupy the center and I push him away to the side.
Tolerance reduces me to silent and inactivity. However, being
hospitable means I am being pro active. I embrace that person and
move him to the center. I may not agree with his views and conduct,
but I still want to become his friend. I may embrace him though he is
not a part of me. I can talk to him from my perspective and he can
do the same from his. As I am thinking about this, again I am
encouraged to study my attitude when I am ministering to someone.
Sometimes pride may cause me to think I know everything about that
person. The truth is I only see in parts just as I am only known in
part. The Holy Spirit needs to teach me to be more discerning, not
so that I can condemn the wrong in that person quickly but to
diagnose the real issue that causes the person to be what he is and
help him see the way out. I believe as a minister of the Gospel, I am
an agent of change. But how can I bring about that change? Perhaps
the first step is to allow His Spirit to strengthen my will to
embrace the person I want to see changed.
