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Winston Churchill loved dinner parties.
The World War II-era British Prime Minister savored hearty entrees, tasty desserts, endless rounds of brandy and champagne, and imported Cuban cigars.
What Churchill most enjoyed, however, was the chance to sit for extended periods with friends and foes alike.
In her book Dinner with Churchill, historian Cita Stelzer reveals that at mealtimes Sir Winston was doing a lot more than just sampling soufflés. It was his lifelong habit to listen carefully, float ideas, entertain gossip, and build bridges amongst his guests.
In other words, the dinner table was Churchill’s secret weapon in conducting the business of politics, both foreign and domestic.
He knew, intuitively, that something special happens when people eat together.
Minds and hearts become more open and vulnerable. Walls comes down. People quietly digest more than just the food on their plates.
Churchill said that if he could have eaten dinner with Josef Stalin once a week, the anxieties of the Cold War might have been far less intense.
It’s not a coincidence that world religions routinely invite their adherents to a central feast. Consider Islam’s Eid al-Fitr (the culmination of the month of Ramadan), Judaism’s Passover (the festive meal that commemorates Israel’s escape from slavery in Egypt), and Christianity’s Lord’s Supper (the mass or eucharist or service of communion that echoes Jesus’ final meal with his disciples the night before he died).
How do we make peace with God and with each other? We sit side by side at the same table.
The New Testament even portrays heaven as the Great Banquet where God is the gracious host.
At the end of every year, America’s holidays (our culture’s “holy days”) present seemingly never-ending opportunities to eat. Thanksgiving is followed by five weeks of Christmas parties, cookie exchanges, New Year’s Eve bashes, family feasts, celebratory dinners, and joyful calls to hoist mugs of hot chocolate, wassail, and eggnog.
It’s enough to keep Weight Watchers in business for a very long time.
The summer feasting season may be smaller in scale, but it won’t be long before grills are firing up, neighbors are coming together to share barbecue and potato salad, and relatives are gathering around picnic tables for annual reunions.
There’s a sacredness in sitting down with others, whether they be friends, family members, or even those fellow students or co-workers with the most pricky personalities.
David writes concerning the Lord, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies” (Psalm 23:5).
Every time we sit down to a meal, it’s the Lord’s table. And that table just might be the place where hurts can be healed and enemies can become allies.
At all your summer gatherings, therefore, listen carefully.
Speak fewer words than you did last year.
Look for Spirit-provided opportunities to build bridges.
It’s time to enjoy the kinds of meals that can make this time of year nothing less than a season of redemption.