We’re having a potluck after worship this Sunday at University Lutheran.
It’s a weird word, “potluck”. The etymology of the word is unclear – we have no idea where or who started saying “potluck” first. And I’m sorry, but no, Lutherans probably invent the concept (although, neither did the Baptists who like to claim it as well).
The explanation that has always made the most sense to me is that it came from the idea of a “communal boil”. Like in the proverbial story of the “Stone Soup,” people would come together and bring their ingredients to put into a pot of boiling water that would eventually result in a stew. Your “pot luck” then was to ladle out a particularly good piece of meat or vegetable.
There is also a Christian tradition from the early church – perhaps stretching as far back as Paul’s letter to the Corinthians – where a local church would gather in the evening for a communal meal/worship service. At this meal, the gathered Christians would celebrate the Lord’s Supper, but also fellowship with one another. That is why Paul seemingly has to get onto the Corinthians for some people getting drunk and others going hungry at these meals. We also see this kind of sharing in Acts 2, when the early Christians gathered and shared all that they had – including their food.
The theology of the potluck is an interesting one. We all bring our gifts to the table, but the reason for the gifting is nothing other than Christ. The occasion is our fellowship in His Name, in His Body, in His Blood, in our Baptisms. Jesus is (probably) not going to miraculously provide NY strip steaks and lobster. He’s going to leave the gifts to us – but they will all be HIS gifts after all.
That jello salad that someone brings belongs to Jesus, because the person who made it belongs to Jesus. The plate of store-bought cookies are Jesus’ as well, because the person who bought them used the money God gave them to purchase them. The mac n’ cheese, the casserole, the gallon of sweet tea….all of them provided by Jesus. His gifting for the occasion of our fellowship in Him.
So no matter what we load up our plates with this Sunday, remember that you’re loading up your plate with His gifts provided by His gifted people around His table of fellowship. And maybe remember that when we take communion together every other Sunday as well.