Thanksgiving is a holiday devoted to food.Well, to thanks-giving, technically. But it centers around food. People complain about this sometimes. In fact, people complain because just about everything we do centers around food.

We “do lunch” when we need to meet with someone. We go out for dinner to celebrate or to commiserate.  We eat cake on birthdays and serve a meal at funerals. Food is a central tool in our relationships.

But, this was not invented by our culture. It is not the product of our gluttony or our affluence. (Okay, maybe it contributes to the first one.) The first recorded instance of food and friendship is in the Bible. In the second book, called Exodus. God was trying to introduce Himself to the Hebrew people who had just come out of slavery. He invited Moses and seventy of the other leaders to come up on Mt. Sinai. And then He sat down and had a meal with them.

Seriously. The Bible says that. They ate supper with God and didn’t die. I don’t know how that worked. You can use your own imagination.

What I do know is that the breaking of bread around a table can be a sacred act. The sharing of food, whether it is turkey and all the trimmings or peanut butter and jelly, can create a bond and open a conversation.

So, as you are passing the corn casserole to Aunt Edna this week, breathe a prayer of real thanksgiving. You are sharing a table with eternal souls. And the moment is holy.