7 MINUTE READ

From Luke’s Journal June 2024  |  Vol.29 No.2  |  Christian Hospitality

Setting the table: an eye-witness account:

As the servant girl, I had the responsibility of cooking and setting the table for the members of the early Christian community who met in their houses for the breaking of the bread.

We always had to be ready to invite strangers, especially travellers, to share the meal if they approached our door. Scripture has taught us this form of hospitality from the time of Abraham^1,2 .

On this day, the apostles were gathered in a house in Jerusalem to celebrate³ a particular feast which occurred exactly seven weeks after the Passover, Shavuot. It was also called Pentecost. The name comes from the Greek word pentekoste which means fiftieth (day).

“Pentecost comes from the Greek word pentekoste which means fiftieth (day)”.

People were expected to bring the first harvest of grain to the Lord including two leavened loaves of bread at the Feast of First Fruits (also called the Feast of Weeks)².

I had carefully washed the wooden utensils from last night’s meal. Ah, in wealthier families these may have been made of silver: “In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold or silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones for everyday use” (2 Timothy 2:20). The kitchen was crowded with stores of the first winter harvest (wheat, barley, lentils, vetch⁴ and some herbs). A basket containing grain had been taken to the Temple as an offering of the first barley harvest⁵, and now lay empty. Outside, strings of onions and leeks hung drying in the late spring sun. I wouldn’t need them for breakfast.

A large wooden platter which contained pottery jars with olives, dried grapes, goat and sheep’s cheese, dates and a pomegranate was already on the table. I had baked fresh bread to eat with the fish.

We ate these often as bread made up half of our diet⁵. At a later seasonal festival, we would have shared fruits such as watermelon, figs, and sycamores (a low-quality fig eaten mainly by the poor). Many people travelled for these feast days and hospitality was expected.

As Jews, we traditionally only eat meat at festivals but on this first day of Jewish Pentecost, I had first prepared some dishes containing milk, before continuing with the festival meat (fish and chicken). Eating dairy after meat in the same meal was forbidden by Jewish Law. My brothers had also been busy with the herds and had made cheeses.

To make cheese, there were two techniques. They would either be made by forming curdled milk by press and salt or made directly in a dead animal’s stomach. The latter method made for more solid and better-textured curds. I preferred goat’s cheese. We were forbidden to use milk or milk products from non-kosher animals.

It was a pleasure to see the apostles share their food gladly, generously and with joy which is the sequel of faith⁵.

As it was late spring, goat and sheep’s milk was plentiful, as was butter^6,7. I had prepared raisin cakes with dried grapes (see Just Desserts, Luke’s Journal 2022) and laid jugs of new wine on the table.

I remember that Peter stood up and spoke to the crowds on the day of Pentecost. As it was only about nine in the morning when the Holy Spirit manifested itself with tongues of fire, I had just served the apostles some fish, similar to that which Jesus had cooked over open coals and served to them when he appeared to Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel and others by the Sea of Galilee after his resurrection⁸.

I had been with the apostles on the day Jesus answered their question about the time Israel would be freed and their kingdom restored. Jesus had said “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witness, telling people about me everywhere – in Jerusalem, through Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:7,8).

Now I was witnessing the fulfilment of Joel’s (“In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants”) and David’s prophesies, and Jesus’ words, with my own eyes and ears, hearing the apostles speak in the tongues of the strangers. Peter spoke to the crowds of Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, Pamphylia, Egypt and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism) Cretans and Arabs who stood there amazed, thinking the apostles were drunk as they were speaking in foreign languages (Acts 2:9-13).

Those who believed what Peter had said were baptised and added to the church that day – about 3000 in all – sharing their meals with prayer, great joy and generosity; and I became even busier in my kitchen!

Taste and see: New Testament Pentecost

Since about the second century AD Christians have celebrated Pentecost for the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and other disciples following the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ (Acts 2). It marks the beginning of the Christian church’s mission to the world. Pentecost is a moveable feast, that is, the date is not fixed, but depends on the date of Easter^2,3.

Modern Christian traditions include baking that is presented in its final form with decorations of the “tongue of fire” on white frosting, or cakes baked in the form of a dove (representing the Holy Spirit)⁹.

We can see, hear, smell, feel and even taste that the Lord is good! Bringing your family to Church is a great start to participating in Feast Days. If you are in a season to add more to your day, try one of these simple ways to bring the life of the Church into your homes and perhaps even create new traditions as a family!⁹

Concluding words from Paul

“Keep loving each other as brothers and sisters. Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this entertained angels without realising it. Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.” (Hebrews 13:1-3)¹⁰

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