Luke 24: 40-43
“Chai” is a word I learned in Kenya that refers to drinking a milky, sugary cup of tea. The word came from Arabic traders who traveled the coasts of Africa and brought with them the habit of serving tea. The word implies fellowship. Many times I heard, “Now that you have had chai at my house, we are friends!” I must also admit that the word “chai” is used to imply bribery at the worst and a gratuity at the best, no dissimilar to our “tipping” the waitress. It is possible to be stopped at a road block and asked for “a little chai.” It does not mean a cup of tea. Sharing chai is important. When we fellowship over food, relationships develop.
Jesus walks into the locked room Easter night and encounters fearful followers. They are shocked by the events churning around them, his appearance unnerves them, and they were trying to understand what was going on. He breathes “peace” on them first and then invites them to look at his hands and feet, touch, and then he requests, “Do you have anything here to eat?” He ate a piece of boiled fish with them. Luke wants us to have no doubts that the Jesus that was brutally crucified in-front of many people, is now alive and somehow still human. Jesus is still able to do the miraculous – go through locked doors – but he is still definitely human – eating fish. We call it “true God and true Man.”
What can we draw from this passage we have been pondering this week. Jesus is not just part of some God in the sky. He understands all that we go through – even the hungers that drive our lives. I know I am guilty of sometimes allowing the verse on a calendar to be my quick check-in with the Lord or prayers while driving along. Today having a cup of “chai” and spending a few minutes in Scripture might be time well invested. The Psalm for the readings Sunday is the 23rd Psalm, “The Lord is my Shepherd.” Now there is a thought to not rush past. Blessings.
On the Way to Wonder 