These disciples were hungry on that first Easter. The passage from Luke shows that fish was on their menu but I don’t think they cleaned off their plates. They were not a part of the clean plate club. I was a part of the clean plate club! I grew up always finishing what was on my plate but back then we just didn’t have much on our plates in the first place so it wasn’t a problem. There were no “seconds” because we didn’t have tons of first. The helpings were smaller. Today, the helpings at restaurants are hug. The Current fast-food servings are two to five times larger than in the 1950s. In 2007, Americans spent half yearly food budget eating out. In 1978, less than 20% of the calories we consumed were eaten outside the home. In 2003, that number had climbed to 50%.[1] When McDonald’s first opened, a soda was 7 ounces; now the child size is 12 ounces, a small is 16 ounces, and the large 32 ounces and French Fries were 2.4 ounces and now 6.2 ounces. Last year Wendy's dropped the Biggie sodas and Great Biggie french fries. They went back to small, medium, and large. What were medium fries is now a small; the Biggie became a medium, and the Great Biggie became a large. The Biggie soda no longer exists but now a large drink is now 42 ounces, 10 ounces larger than the year before when it was the Biggie.[2]
We do have a natural way of saying that we are full. That’s when you know you are not hungry and need be leery of forcing food down just to finish what is on the plate. But the reality is, we come before God very hungry! There is so much that we consume that doesn’t fill us up! Today, the disciples remind us that we should eat less fast food and perhaps eat more fish.
What was on that plate the actual first Easter dinner? What did you have on Easter (Ask for responses)? Some of you had traditional Easter ham! That is what we had at my in-laws. However, this year we had fish for lunch on Easter for the first time. We tried to return to the actual and most traditional Easter meal, FISH! You might think ham or a leg of lamb is the traditional Easter meal. But I would like to suggest that we renew the traditional meal for Easter dinner and have fish next year. We had Salmon this year. The disciples had fish. Most of the disciples were fisherman when Jesus called them. They grew up around the
The first Easter Meal was broiled fish to be exact. The disciples were called by Jesus and told that they would fish for people. The fish became the prominent symbol of the Christian faith for the next three hundred years. The fish was the primary symbol for the Christian faith until the cross was banned by the Romans as a form of execution in the third century. Bishops had fishes engraved on their seals and carved into gravestones and tiles the floor. It adorned fonts in the early church. During those first three hundred years, Christians were persecuted. Some suggest that a person could mark an arch with their foot in the dirt to find out if the other person they were talking to was a Christian. The other could then make an arch as well and make the shape of a fish.
The fish can be seen on the back of cars, though I don’t have one so people don’t view my driving as a sign of my faith. I use the fish symbol on my email signature with the greater than, less than, greater than characters ><>.
Last winter I led a funeral for a good friend of mine’s brother-in-law who died of a sudden heart attack. Jim was in his late 50’s and I knew him since the 1980’s whenever I would see Julius or be at family party for one of his kids. I was asked to do the funeral which was held at a funeral home on
The fish had already been cleaned, broiled and eaten. The disciples had already eaten! The fish has already been cooked and it is just sitting there. They probably had lamb for dinner on the Passover on Thursday and now they are eating some broiled fish for Sunday dinner. It was Sunday evening and they were uncertain about what to do. The disciples had heard that Jesus had risen but still were disbelieving. They had shared a fish meal and were discussing the new about Jesus appearing to two men on the road to Emmaus. They were discussing this among themselves.
There was so much on their plates, including perhaps guilt, fear, doubt and grief. Their heads were spinning like plates on the end of the stick when his crucifixion came crashing down! Then Jesus appeared! Was it a ghost? They were frightened and feeling doubt about who this was and what this was that was before them.
Then Jesus stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” He just mysteriously appeared to them through the door. They were startled and terrified. They thought Jesus was a ghost. They all were doubting and not just Thomas in Luke’s gospel. Then Jesus said, “Why are you frightened, & have doubts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones.”
Then Jesus said, “Have you anything here to eat?” I don’t think he was really hungry as he hadn’t eaten since Thursday. I don’t think he was just dying for fish. It wasn’t that he was physically hungry but he wanted to prove something to them. So they gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence. I’d like to suggest that Jesus started the clean plate club. When Jesus ate the fish, it demonstrated that this was no ghost or a spiritual form because ghosts or spirit didn’t eat anything. Jesus was alive and the resurrected body ate in some manner. This was a sign that Jesus in this spiritual body was alive.
When the disciples gave Jesus a piece of fish on a plate, I think they also brought their doubt, sin, fears, grief and struggles as well. We all bring so much to this plate and to this table and at the end of this meal, we see that Jesus has consumed sin, death and the grave once and for all. Just like the empty tomb, the plate is empty too.[3]
Jesus offered them to a clean slate to start all over again. They were able to receive forgiveness because they repented, turned around and went out to lead this ministry of reconciliation for the sake of others!
Let us pray: Gracious God, we bring so much to this plate today. We have tried to fill our hunger in ways that do not satisfy. But you have been consumed our sin, death and grave once and for all. You have consumed our fears and doubts again and again; forever and ever and ever. Amen.
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