For a Chinese, one of the most prominent aspect of celebrating the Chinese New Year is undoubtedly the reunion dinner that is traditionally held on the eve of the festival. For those based overseas, they would plan ahead and book their air-tickets many months in advance to ensure a seat on the plane or train. Even those who would not normally bother about family gatherings are likely to make an effort to be present for this annual celebratory meal.
Although it is increasingly common to find people taking advantage of this public holiday to go overseas for a short getaway, the gathering of family members for this festive meal is still being practiced by most families. While it may take a different form nowadays, the fact remains there is something that people cherish about being able to eat together with their loved ones. As much as an abundance of delicacies is usually prepared for the reunion dinner, I believe it is really not so much about the food that draws the people together. Rather, there is just something about eating together as a family that helps to foster healthy relationships.
Interestingly enough, we learn from the Bible that whenever the Christians gathered, it would always be accompanied by a meal, which is described as the breaking of bread (Acts 2:42-47, 20:7). Most theologians explain that this breaking of bread would likely include both the Lord’s Supper (commonly known as Holy Communion) as well as a larger fellowship meal. Evidently, it would seem that to a large extent, no Christian gathering was complete without this breaking of bread.
It is little wonder then that for John Calvin, a noted Reformer, he saw this biblical practice of regularly partaking in the Lord’s Supper as at the heart of Christian worship. In response to his historical context where this sacrament was being wrongly understood and withheld from most believers, Calvin’s preference was that it should be observed whenever the Word is preached or “at least once a week”. Furthermore, since the Lord’s Supper is a gift given by Christ himself to His people and points to the centrality of Christ, it will only serve to strengthen our bond of love with God and others within the faith community.
For the Christians during the time of the early church, their gathering was not because there was some festive occasion to celebrate. In fact, it may surprise many that historically, the Christians during those days did not observe any special dates such as Easter or Christmas. If anything, the only “special” day that they observed was the Lord’s Day and their gathering was often characterized by a gladness of heart and sincere worship.
After all, the Christians would have met and ate with each other regularly simply because they desired to do so rather than because they felt obliged or were trying to demonstrate their religious fervour towards God. More than just out of pragmatic reasons to find safety in numbers and to meet like-minded people in their newfound faith, the Christians met regularly as they understood that God has graciously given them the right to become children of God (Jn 1:12). Indeed, whenever someone humbly puts his trust in Jesus Christ, by God’s grace, he now belongs to another family – God’s family.
We have all heard of how some family members may be prejudiced towards certain relatives or have drifted apart due to a variety of reasons. This serves as a poignant reminder that blood is not always thicker than water, especially if sin has been allowed to fester in our relationships.
The wonderful thing about being in God’s family is that it transcends ethnicity, social status, gender, age, etc. Indeed, the family which God has called us to cannot be easily dissolved by petty conflict or divided by a perceived generational gap. Not when it is established on the unshakable foundation of Christ’s blood. Not when every time God’s children gather around the table, God’s children are mindful that we are coming before the presence of a holy and loving God. Not when God’s children are growing in their assurance of our Heavenly Father’s love that shows no favouritism and need not vie for God’s attention or strive for a bigger share of the inheritance.
If we as Chinese (as well as other ethnic groups) value our family ties, it is only right to expect a Christian who has been brought into God’s family through the atoning sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus to hold this spiritual family in even higher regards. Since God is the head of the “household” and he is inviting all his children to come together regularly for a lavish meal, why would we want to stay away from it? Unless one is like some estranged family member who would rather avoid meeting our Heavenly Father and other family members? If this is so, our issue may not be so much about our commitment to the Father but more of receiving His forgiveness and showing forgiveness to others. The good news is unlike our Chinese tradition where we are supposed to keep some leftovers from the reunion meal so as to ensure that the family will enjoy abundance in the New Year, Jesus invites us to a meal where we are to “take, eat and drink it all”. In Christ, there will always be more!
