Getting Together Over a Meal

One of the things Ruben Garza said to me as we were preparing for the wonderful memorial service/fiesta we prepared for his wife—and family matriarch—Mary Alice, was, “I look forward to being back in church with my friends.” That’s not surprising. The Garza family has always centered around being together—especially around a meal.

Son-in-law Eddie Clinton reflected on his and Anna’s wedding, which stretched into four days before they could finally leave on their honeymoon. Every day brought another breakfast, lunch, and dinner with extended family and friends getting together over a meal. “My gosh, Anna—we just SAW these people last night!” Eddie said. Then he smiled and added, “And it never ended.”

This Memorial Day weekend, we will remember those who never made it home for dinner—those who sacrificed their lives so that we might continue to gather as families around the table. And then, on the following Communion Sunday, we will gather as a church family around the Lord’s Table. Jesus told us that this is where we are most connected—to one another, and to him. He promised to be present with us. There is a warmth, a give-and-take, a sharing, an intimacy with Christ, and a joy in the physical presence of one another when we get together over a meal. Jesus told us to remember that every time we do so.

I am so thankful for Mary Alice, who dedicated her life to creating family in the broadest and most beautiful sense of the word—by bringing people together over a meal. Just nine days before she died, she was up at church greeting members of the Multi-Cultural Outreach Roundtable, an organization the mayor of Plano tasked her to establish two decades ago. This gathering of diverse people—across color, language, and religion—met, of course, around a potluck meal. Because that’s what family does: bringing themselves and bringing their best, for each other. Just as Jesus did. That’s what family and friends do.

Thank you, Mary Alice, for lovingly, brilliantly, and always brightly showing us how.

Matt Gaston
Lead Pastor