Let's do lunch

This week I'm having 5 Christmas meals - yes 5!

What is it about Christmas that makes us all go "hey, we should have a Christmas meal and all get together"? I'm a little bit resentful of the fact I have to attend 5 events this week.

I don't remember a meal being mentioned in the traditional nativity story, although I'm sure they all ate at some point. Nowhere in the Bible does it say 'Thou must celebrate the birth of thy Saviour with copious amounts of food and drink". Although it does have something to say on Gluttony.

What it comes down to is our inbuilt desire to be with people when there's good news to be celebrated and our need for genuine community. The Bible affirms that it is good we meet together. I came across this story in the book 'The Connecting Church'

A few years ago my wife and I finally cracked under the pleas of our children to add a dog to the family. We gave

in after eleven years of begging. Two days before Christmas, we purchased a full-bred beagle puppy we named

Lady. She had lived with us for about a year when we took a family vacation without her. The children were very

concerned about the well-being of Lady while we were away and insisted that if we couldn’t take her with us that

we get her the best possible accommodations. Through the help of another pet-obsessed friend, we located a place,

The Pet Hotel—imagine that, a hotel for pets! This was the first I had ever head of such a thing. Each pet is

assigned and individual room. There is a television playing during the day for the dog to watch. The feedings are at

precisely the time we offer them in here normal routine. The pets are actually walked and doted on more in The Pet

Hotel than at home. This made the children feel better and made me feel a little poorer...

The family returned home on a Friday night, too late to pick up Lady. So, the first order of business on Saturday

was to head to The Pet Hotel. We gathered all her personal belongings, received a report ensuring us that they had

done everything they promised, and paid the bill. When we got into the car, each of us eagerly petted Lady,

genuinely happy to have her back. However, as we petted her, large clumps of hair clung to our hands. While I tried

to convince the children that everything was okay, I was thoroughly concerned.

When we arrived home, I called the veterinarian in a panic. After I explained our dog’s symptoms upon picking her

up from our seven-day vacation, the doctor told me that Lady was stressed by our absence; he suggested we spend

about two hours with her at home, and then her hair would stick once again. I seriously doubted the prescription,

but the though of avoiding a visit to the vet hotel after paying the pet hotel bill worked for me. I kid you not, within

fifteen minutes of being with us in our home, we couldn’t pull a hair from Lady’s body. It was quite unbelievable.

The doctor was right after all.

If a dog starts to fall apart after just seven days of being robbed of community, how much more is it true for

humans, who are created in the image of God for fellowship? We were designed by God physically, emotionally,

and spiritually to require community for our health. In The Gift of Touch, Helen Colton says that the haemoglobin

in the blood increases significantly when we are touched (haemoglobin is the part of the blood that carries vital

supplies of oxygen to the heart and brain). She concludes that if we want to be healthy, we must touch one another.

Isn't that great? We have to do Community. It's not optional, it's necessary. I'm gonna try and remember this whilst I chomp my way through brussel sprouts this week.