Why Breakfast is Biblical

There is something biblical about breakfast.

All throughout the Bible, people are getting up early. And I assume they were eventually eating.

No, the scriptures do not say that "In the morning, Jesus went up on a mountain to Waffle House" or that the apostle Paul--despite his interest in athletics--enjoyed a Denny's Grand Slam. But the fact remains, they were getting up early, they were praying and starting the day, and at some point, they got hungry (even Christ, because he was fully human) and they had breakfast.

On Sundays, I go to church at 5 o'clock. This is not ideal; I would rather go at 9:30. But it is what is is, and I must deal with the unconventionality. Thus, the productivity, restfulness, and set-apart-ness of my Sundays largely depends on whether I get up for breakfast. On days that I do not, I don't wake up until 10 or 11. Sunday is restful, but in the wrong way. My day becomes unstructured, and somewhat stressful. Because there is no routine, my mind is constantly fixed on what I would like to do, and my Sundays quickly become personal days.

On those Sundays that I get up for breakfast, things become more 'right'. My day starts off with that simple discipline that is waking up on time, and the rest of my day falls into rest and routine. The more 'routined' it becomes, the less I am mindful of myself, and the more I am reminded of what the Sabbath is all about.

How does breakfast make our lives so full? What makes it so biblical?

First of all, it is so very simple. Think about the things we eat for breakfast.... We eat eggs, we eat bacon; we eat sausage, we eat cereal. While the preparation of breakfast may vary slightly, the items of breakfast do not. It is constant; you know what you are getting. You do not send the bacon back to the kitchen to be cooked longer. You accept it as it is. It gives us predictability in an unpredictable world, and it reflects the constancy of Christ.

Furthermore, meals in general are biblical. Over the last year, I have been struck with how many meals Jesus has in the scriptures-- how much the gospel writers emphasize Christ sharing the table with sinners. There is something beautiful about sharing a meal with another human before you both go out into a messed-up world, to be able to share quietude and coffee before the day and its business begin.

This last thing may just be me--perhaps some of you out there in the blogosphere can relate-- but breakfast lets me know that everything will be okay. Have you ever awoke in the morning, post-alarm and pre-shower, and felt very cold and very alone? Days where the sole goal quickly becomes the pillow that night? I have many of those days, especially this time of year. The shower helps somewhat, but breakfast returns things to normalcy. It makes me recall the night and the days before, and it reminds me of where I am going. The Bible helps more, but breakfast points me in the right direction.

People, especially my age, love spontaneity. College, best four years of my life, yada yada. And I love it too. But I also love normalcy, and I crave routine. Maybe it is my own insecurity; I'll be the first to admit that that could be the case.

I also admit that my days often pass by wastefully. I do not do as T.S. Eliot wrote, when he said we are to "Redeem the time". Eliot got that catchy line from the apostle Paul. Paul had breakfast. I need breakfast too.