Homesick Restaurant

I just preached the following story this weekend and the response had been most humbling. My story was based on a novel by Anne Tyler Dinner entitled "The Homesick Restaurant." The family in her story was not ideal. The mother was explosive and vindictive. The father abandoned his kids when young. The children fought tooth and nail and carried grudges and resentment into their adult years. Sadly, this might describe a few Christmas family gatherings a few weeks ago.

The hero in our story is Ezra, a son who loves to cook. He gets a job in Mrs. Scarlotti's Italian restaurant. Mrs. Scarlotti becomes fond of young Ezra and in time turns her restaurant over to him. Ezra tries to revamp the menu and change the ambiance of the restaurant. He comes up with the idea of the Homesick Restaurant because he believes that everybody is homesick for something, some dish that mother used to make or some regional or ethnic food that reminds them of who they are, that reminds them of home.

I want to suggest on another cold, snowy morning that you remember what food from home made you feel warm inside. Those tasty carbs like mash potatoes with gravy, or homemade scones or chicken soup might help relieve the cold. You might call it your "comfort food." It has a special place in your memory and when you eat it you feed a spiritual yearning for something that is lost, or for something that has never been found. Anne Tyler wrote, "It's not only pot roast...(my comfort food) It’s something more...it's more like... what you long for when you're sad and everything's been wearing you down."

Many times Jesus was harassed by some who would make any one of us feel sad. He had moments when everyone had been wearing him down. You know this feeling as being treated unfairly or misunderstood or taken for granted. Sadly, it might come from your own family members whose jealousy or envy make us cringe. So we climb into ourselves and look for a quiet place to retreat and rest from all the back stabbing comments that make us feel miserable.

At a time when everyone had been wearing him down, Jesus craved a meal, the Passover meal captured the essence of his faith, of our faith. The Passover meal recalled God's promise that God will always be faithful to Israel, will never abandon Israel and will always lead them, lead us, into freedom. When Jesus shared that meal, it was like home for him.

Home is the place we are all looking for when life wears on us. It's that place we are really homesick for; where God can touch our lives with a promise that he will he will never abandon us. To have that promise renewed is like going home. No matter where you are in your life, no matter how far you are from home, no matter how far you think you are from God, when you share this meal, you are home.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who are feeling sad and everything seems to be wearing them down. Come to your Homesick Restaurant. It may be just down the street from where you live. It’s your local worship community This is what you've been looking for. This is what you have been longing for. You may not have even realized it. But, this is home, around this table, with Christ as your host and with a new family of believers who practice that love that Jesus lived. This is home.