breaking bread
i was driving about 45 minutes south to murfreesboro for my assistantship this morning and i stopped to get something to eat at mcdonalds (yes, poor food choice, i know). after going through the drive thru i pulled into a parking spot because i got inspired to throw a bunch of trash out of my car. as i was walking back to my car i saw a man sitting in his car next to mine eating. i ran back into the store to get something and i came back out and he was still there. there was something that pierced my heart when i saw him. i immediately thought about how we’ve cheapened eating.
don’t go crazy on me yet. not that his egg mcmuffin was cheap, but that we have made eating a task, we have made it efficient, we have made it lonely. he would rather go through the drive thru, park his car, and eat it in there… my professor said last semester that there is nothing like building community over a meal. i believe it with all of my heart. you’re feeding your body and your soul.
i know what you’re thinking, if the man had gone inside he would have still sat by himself. yes, but he would have sat amongst people. he would have had more human interaction than he did from a speaker that was placed on a box.
it hit me because i do this, i have made something that i think is a powerful social event, something that has to get done. i don’t chew anywhere near the 30 or so times that you’re supposed to chew. i watch tv and don’t think about the time i spent on preparing my meal. i hardly ever remember to give thanks for it and the people who spent time harvesting the vegetables or packaging whatever it is i heated up. i don’t think about those who aren’t as lucky as i am to even enjoy a meal as many times a day as i do.
call me an idealist, but i see the meal as a powerful thing. the last thing Jesus really did with his disciples was break bread and share a meal. HE WAS DYING THE NEXT DAY, He knew it but still found it important to take time, sit at a table, talk with friends and eat. i love it. so simple, yet so beautiful.
will i still use a drive thru? probably, i don’t want to but i probably will. i’m going to try not to though and really pray that i don’t live a life where everything has to be efficient and convenient, but where i can go eat meal with someone and not think about what time it is and what’s happening next. i have a long road ahead.
hopefully that sweet man in his car just needed a break and was completely content. maybe i just needed to see him and assume so i could get out of it that i needed to not cheapen the experience of a meal.
