APAD day 14: gather

I've noticed that of the pictures I take, the other most popular subject besides sunrises/sunsets is food. Today is no exception. 

The first time I made an apple pie by myself was my freshman year of college. I had gathered a fair number of apples from the dining hall with the intent on eating them later as a snack or something. Well...I didn't. They sat around and got old. They were to the point where I didn't want to eat them raw anymore, but I didn't want them to go to waste, so I figured I'd cook with them. 

Pie it was. 

I made the pie over in the kitchen of the dorm next to mine (there was no kitchenette in Clinton). I contacted my friends and floor-mates and shared the wealth, without hardly letting the thing cool. It was delicious as well as a lot of fun and a big self esteem boost. 

I've made many a pie since then, as well as banana bread, cookies, and full dinners. 

From my experience, food brings people together. Events at church growing up (and still now) are almost always accompanied with food, be that a meal, snack, dessert, or a Eucharistic feast. The last pie I made (before this one) brought my boyfriend over as well as some of my new-teacher friends. I have a special bond with my fifth grade students in part because I made English muffin pizzas for them as the culmination of a big project. 

Gathering for a time to eat gives people a chance to sit down, take a break, and fellowship in a way that few other things can. 

Jesus often ate with people. Some claim he ate with the wrong people, but he did it anyway. Eating a meal together perhaps provided a level playing field. Not always, as I know there were seats of honor at the table. That aside, I always imagine Jesus at the last supper with his disciples sitting together as equals, as friends sharing a very normal yet very sacred moment together. 

When do you gather with others? What brings you together? With whom do you gather now, and who else can you invite to the table? 

Not in the dark of buildings confining,

not in some heaven, light years away—

here in this place the new light is shining,

now is the kingdom, and now is the day.

Gather us in and hold us forever,

gather us in and make us your own;

gather us in, all peoples together,

fire of love in our flesh and our bone.

('Gather Us In' v. 4, by Marty Haugen)