BREAKFAST IS READY
My feet are always on fire as in F-I-R-E. Apart from walking and working out, I have no need or want for closed-toe shoes. Predictably, I resort to my fav flip-flop not only in my neighborhood but in and around Southeast Asia. My signature airport fashion outfit is a pair of cheap brown or black flip-flops. Including the freedom of my toes, I like the slapping sound it generates rhythmically. What I cannot figure out is why my feet get hot. The other day, I had to look it up online to see if something was wrong with me. I tried putting my feet in a bucket of ice water. Except for a few respite minutes of “Aahs” and “Oohs” in the water and soon after my feet are out, my feet roar back to being on fire. We need to turn on the air conditioner at night while sleeping, otherwise, the room gets too damp and warm. While my body is under cover, my feet are happily outside the cover.
While my hot feet remain a mystery, my wife and I have been getting ready to host a family from Korea. It would be their longest international trip as a family. The husband and their five-year-old daughter had to get their visas renewed. The wife is taking a belatedly deserved maternity leave from her work. Having been part of the rat race of Korean work culture for the last couple of decades, they are seeking how to live and live well in the second half of their lives. Naturally, we invited them to come out of the “system” albeit briefly to see the world from a different perspective and discern. As our first long-term guests, they will be with us for about sixteen days. However, in the middle of their stay, we will be in the Philippines for ten days. We all knew that was the plan and gladly accepted the arrangement. We feel comfortable enough with them that they can make our home their home.
When we traveled throughout Asia, we received thoughtful and generous hospitality from people. Then there were the unexpected that surprised us with overflowing goodness and grace. Not in the spirit of reciprocity but out of channeling what we have received, we are gearing up to welcome the family. At the center of our hospitality will be food. Many stories from the gospel accounts revolve around eating and drinking. As eating and drinking are two of the most human things to do, God does not overlook humanness and merely tries to elevate us to the heavenly. Besides, one of the critical issues in the early Church as Gentiles were coming to faith had to do with the differences in dietary laws and restrictions between the Jews and the Gentiles. The issue was not a matter of who was right and wrong. “Putting others first” when considering the class distinctions and dietary laws in the Jewish and Gentile cultures was essentially the heart of one of Paul’s major teachings to the early Church.
Staying on the topic of food, the most significant conversation that Apostle Peter had with Jesus took place after eating breakfast at the Sea of Galilee. This was Peter’s first encounter with the resurrected Jesus after his infamous denying and betraying of Jesus before the crucifixion. Like the zealous Peter we have learned, he unsurprisingly dove into the sea after finding out it was Jesus standing on the shore. The decisive action tells me that as soon as he laid his eyes on Jesus from afar, he knew from his heart that forgiveness was already granted. Jesus’ presence was grace itself. Soon after, I imagine Jesus warmly smiling and welcoming the disciples including Peter by inviting them, “Breakfast is ready.” I conjecture that Peter treasured the unforgettable breakfast on the seashore in his heart for the rest of his life. After eating breakfast, the intimate conversation between Jesus and Peter took center stage as John meticulously recalls the interaction, decades later. Thanks to John, that conversation presents as the perennial invitation for all Christ’s followers to “feed and shepherd Jesus’ lambs and sheep.” Along with the host of others, I take the invitation to heart and say “Yes, Lord” literally and figuratively. I would love to say, “Breakfast is ready.”