Years ago, I attended a pastor’s gathering hosted by a church in Salt Lake City. We were discussing the Bible, culture, and theology. This church had a core volunteer couple, and the wife happened to be Salt Lake City’s top food blogger. She knew all the best local chefs, mixologists, and food purveyors. She asked them to bring their best food, wine, and beer for our group of pastors. Their reaction? “Wait, pastors drink beer? We’re in!”

Each meal featured different chefs connected to her, who would come, explain their work, and receive our prayers. It was a meaningful experience.

On the last night, one of Salt Lake City’s top chefs brought out a special dish: duck confit. I’d never tried duck confit before. It’s duck cooked in its own fat—delicious and indulgent. This was no buffet line; the meal was served at a candlelit table, creating an amazing atmosphere. As we prepared to pray, the host pastor reminded us, “There are people around the world not eating like this tonight. Instead of feeling bad, let’s eat with gratitude, seeing this as a picture of the feast in the new kingdom.” He then read Isaiah 25:

“On this mountain, the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, rich food full of marrow, aged wine well-refined. And He will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of His people will be taken away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.”

The pastor raised his glass and said, “To the King!” It felt like something out of Braveheart. “To the King!”

This is how we should eat on Christmas Eve, on Christmas Day—to the King! Because it’s a glimpse of the coming kingdom, a promised feast for all nations.

To The King

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