The Art of Gathering Guest Writer Series
Guest Writer Jenni Johnson
There is no Christ but the Universal Christ. So why do we box Him up and present Him, worship Him, speak to him only in the context of the comfortable? The palpable? The easy to swallow?
I’ve spent the past two years traveling the world and searching for community, meaning, and honest connection with souls outside of the American Church. Through food, touch and languages outside of my own, I realized quickly how ignorant I was to the hardships of sharing tables with others who do not think, believe or speak like me.
Being raised in the Bible belt, I never knew how much of a pharisee mindset my upbringing influenced had on my psyche. I thought I was inclusive, accepting and open to conversations; loving people despite differences. But I came to learn that it isn’t until you’re in a foreign space that you see you aren’t quite as open to sharing tables as Jesus was.
You find out, above all else, you aren’t open to loving above all else. (1 Peter 4:8)
I know this because I wasn’t just learning to share tables with others. I was learning to share a table with myself.
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins”
1 Peter 4:8
Giving up ease and comfort
Three years ago before I moved to Europe, I entered treatment for anorexia. Ashamed and afraid, I spent a year learning how to physically eat. Though I am grateful for the professional help I received, I will be honest in saying that treatment did not save my life. Daily requirements of nutritional education and accountability, therapy sessions and time sharing with others about my childhood trauma around food or the way my parents raised me didn’t bring me back to life.
In fact, I found my life when I lost it.
When I gave up the comfortable.
When I gave up my native lifestyle, native job and native tongue, quite literally.
I still remember the day I decided to leave and live in another country after my year of rehabilitation. I was reading a book about St. Francis of Assisi and spoke with my roommate and dear friend in Los Angeles who had traveled the world bravely before. I was inspired equally by them both.
“You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain” she exclaimed. I knew I wanted to jump in with both feet, but how? After not eating, not living, not being present for almost twenty-seven years, how could I move somewhere where the culture revolved around food? Around slowing down? Around living?
One morning after meditating, I felt it in my chest. I felt the Holy Spirit give me a nod of approval and a whisper like wind opened a door in my mind. One of possibility and freedom.
Since that day I embarked on a free fall of trust. I trusted that the Jesus who lived inside of me also lived amongst the world NOT just in the confinements of his hometown. Home country. That if I was going to truly pursue a life I worked so hard to built from bones up; one of loving others, loving myself, and loving God, I was going to have to do it outside of my own ideas of easy. Easy church small groups, easy routine of weekly sabbath, easy communion with others who thought just like me, I was going to have to take a leap.
Sharing Tables and Reshaping Perspectives
Since that day I have encountered more beautiful souls and points of view than I can count. I’ve been on trains, planes, and boats. I’ve shared wines and serendipitously shared meals with Michelin Starred chefs, European countrymen, and city natives. The Lord has led me through difficult conversations, passionate disagreements, and uncomfortable tension over intricate dishes of beef and veal and Poulet. I have witnessed reconciliation over créme brûlées, coffees, and burgundy wines.
Reflecting on the teachings of Jesus, I realized the need to embrace discomfort and the possibility of being wrong. That learning to listen with my heart, not my mind, was what us as Christians; as HUMANS are called to do.
Seeking a new perspective became a transformative act, fostering a deeper understanding of the Universal Christ who transcends cultural boundaries. I’ve been reminded that the journey of faith is a continuous process of reshaping perspectives. One where I’ve had to learn to sit not just with others, but with myself.
Eat with myself. Accept myself. Love myself the way Jesus intended all of us to.
To move from the shame of gaining weight on my thighs and to the joy of gaining weight of friendships.
In the midst of these revelations, I ended up settling in Paris, France. By God’s grace, I crossed paths with a kind English-speaking real estate agent who quickly became a friend. “I’m really interested in learning more about French food and culture,” I mentioned in passing as he showed me an apartment in the 7th arrondissement.
“Oh, really? I’m a part of a food club. I know the founder if you’re interested in meeting him.” he responded. A few weeks later I met this pepper-bearded man and his little dog in a coffee shop. I learned about his club of passionate food lovers and the joy that surrounded their meetings and their support of local food producers and chefs.
Over that chai latte, I didn’t just fall in love with this club, I fell in love with everything it entailed. The universal language of communion and understanding. The support of hands that prepare our food. The shared experiences and laughter and intricacy of nourishment and time spent together. These experiences mirrored the Kingdom of God, where love and acceptance prevailed over differences. This was somewhere I wanted to be.
In the vulnerability of sharing meals with strangers, I’ve found healing and witnessed the transformative power of God’s grace.
Unexpected Grace and Invitation
The French food club, and the founder whom I love very much and share a life and two dogs with now (God works in mysterious ways) have become a really beautiful canvas for the redemption of my eating disorder. In the vulnerability of sharing meals with strangers, I’ve found healing and witnessed the transformative power of God’s grace. In kitchens and on farms of food producers in France, I’ve learned to listen to people and their stories; even in French. It feels like Jesus has escorted me from a comfortable cage to beautiful free fall.
My nomadic exploration has been a revelation of the Universal Christ, challenging me to embrace an authentic and expansive understanding of His love for others when He walked the earth. Through encounters, disagreements, shared meals and a lot of visa paperwork, I have witnessed a tangible spirit of taste that goes beyond the confinements of American Christianity. In tables around the world, I’ve found manifestations of God’s grace in bread (and a lot of butter). I’ve learned how to take care of myself by communing with my body and with others around a table. I’ve learned it isn’t about agreeing; it is about listening.
As St. Francis says, “Preach the gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.” I’d like to add; when necessary, add wine.
With grace and light,
Jenni is a video creator, director and writer. She specializes in media strategy and telling stories that innovate, educate and inspire. She believes in creating spaces that connect us to one another. She hopes to share one of those spaces with you soon.
Jenni sets tables in Paris where she meets new friends and learns to live in community through shared meals.
You can connect with Jenni at https://thejennijohnson.com/
Make sure to connect with her on IG and/or on her Substack as well.
A Simple Charcuterie Guide
What a perfect time to start honing your charcuterie skills with the holidays here! I have just the right thing to help you feel ready and confident while you gather. I created this simple and beautiful charcuterie guide for you. In my opinion it’s cute enough to display and then it would always be available for you! Plus, I am always honored to offer you practical content for purposeful and life giving time around the table. Check it out by clicking on the graphic below!
Daisy F. Dronen 