Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor

  © 2025, Dr. Tamilio

There is an old…joke…about this church: we love to eat.  We do.  It’s not really a joke.  It is a humorous reality.  Whether it is the donuts and other sumptuous treats that Ben Murray bakes for coffee hour, or the fundraiser meals we offer, or the Senior Suppers, or any other occasion we come up with for a potluck lunch — we love to eat.  Forget the Congregational Church of Canton; we should be called the Italian Church of Canton.

Jesus loved to eat, too.  There are so many stories of him gathering for meals in the homes of his followers.  Many of his miracles involved food.  His very first one was performed at a wedding feast in Cana.  And let’s not forget about the loaves and the fishes.

After he rose from the dead, there are two stories of him eating with the disciples: having fish by the seashore and going to the home of Cleopas and his companion after meeting on the road to Emmaus.  And then there is the story of Jesus sharing the Passover meal with the disciples on the night he was betrayed, the night before he was crucified.  Meals, sharing food, and the breaking of bread figured largely in Jesus’ ministry.  Why is that?

Food fulfills one of our most basic, essential needs: to eat.  We need to eat to live.  If you are actually Italian, then you live to eat.  That’s a bit different.  But there is something about food that unites us, that helps form and sustain relationships.  Business deals and first dates often happen over a meal.  When families get together to celebrate a holiday, a birthday, or an anniversary, food is almost always involved.  Imagine going to a wedding that did not have a meal of some kind.  Such collations are also common after a funeral service.  There is something about sharing a meal that unites us with one another.  It creates a bond.

When you go to a restaurant, you rarely see someone eating alone.  Rarely does it occur, but it does.  I always feel sad when I see that.  According to the website The Chopping Block, “When you think about your most memorable meals, chances are they weren’t eaten alone.  They were likely shared with others, at a holiday gathering, a celebration, or a casual dinner with friends.  That’s because sharing food isn’t just about eating; it’s about creating connections.”[1]  But how?  How does it happen?

I think there are many answers to this question, but I will offer two.  One is physiological and the other is theological.

[1] Alphonse Griger, “The Unifying Power of Food: How Sharing a Meal Brings Us Together,” from The Chopping Block, October 10, 2024.

When Christians gather to receive this meal, they typically hear the words “Do this in remembrance of me.”  This quote from Jesus, which is found in the earliest reference to the Last Supper, is often etched on Communion tables, such as ours.  There are two key words here: “do” and “remember.”  The second word (remember) is from the Greek word anamnesis.  It does not mean remember as in a sort of cognitive recall.  (Do you remember what you did last summer?)  It means to reenact what was done.  Hence, this word is tied to the first one: do.  When we do this, we reenact something.  So, what are we doing and what are we reenacting?

Theologians have offered many answers to this question.  Let me distill them.  When we share the bread and the cup of the Eucharist, it is as if we are sharing it with Jesus as he shared it in the Upper Room on the night he was betrayed.  We are reliving the fullness of its meaning: that this is his presence among us.  As we read today, Jesus ascended into heaven forty days after the resurrection.  This is the liturgical focus of today.  But he did not just leave us.  He gave us the Holy Spirit, which we discussed last week and will celebrate next week on Pentecost.  He also gave us this meal, reminding us that whenever we break this bread and drink this cup, we acknowledge that Jesus is here with us.

Jesus is here with us.  He sits with us when we share this meal.  But he does not just join us when we do this in remembrance of him in this building.  As we are fed by this meal, we are reminded that Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, fills us — and he accompanies us when we leave this sanctuary.

Every meal you share, every relationship you form, every hardship you seek to overcome, every obstacle that life throws across your path, every joyous moment, whatever you do to form and bolster the relationships you share inside and outside of this church, Jesus is there.

So come to the table, my friends, where the bread is broken, the cup is shared, and the living Christ joins us and unites us into his body, his very holy presence.

The Psalmist once wrote, “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (34:8a).  Indeed, he is.  Amen.