Sermon: Food and faith Psalm 148: In a Book “Soil and Sacrament: A spiritual Memoir of Food and Faith Fred Bahonsn ( director of the Food, Faith and Religious Leadership Initiative at Wake Forest University School of Divinity) wants the stories he shares to convey a “sacramental view of the world that’s missing in Christian churches. I think we have a reductionistic view of Christian faith as between me and Jesus.” God is part of the food we grow and share, Bahnson said, and it’s not just a vertical relationship, but sharing with others. We explored and reflected on what we eat, how we get it on our tables starting from the production to processing distribution and consumption. We shared what each dish we make means to us by narrating the story associated with the recipe as we shared a meal together. Food has occupied a significant, though underappreciated role in Christian tradition. The Bible teaches us about eating well, and shows how God invites us to share in this love by becoming hospitable and nurturing to others. Food is not a commodity or product made for political gain or private profit. It is a gift like manna, meant to remind us of our dependence on God and upon each other (Exodus 16). Receiving food properly we bear witness to a gracious God. Two weeks ago we saw how in the Bible we often find Jesus in tables dining with all sorts of people or on the road. In Lukes gospel eating together is an important theme (5: 29-32. 7: 36-50, 9: 12-17; 11: 37-41). Jesus’ death is commemorated in the Lords supper (22:14-38). Jesus uses the occasion of the meal in the home of the Pharisee to teach the significance of table fellowship as a sign of the kingdom of God. Jesus had already counseled the guests not to seek the best seats at the table (14: 7-11). He encouraged the host to invite those who cannot repay the invitation (14: 12-14). At its heart, the story of God’s people is also a story of the land. In the Old Testament, Adam and Eve are expelled from the land and the Israelites wander for years throughout a foreign land, finally establishing their home in a land promised to them by God. In Leviticus 25:23, God reminds the Israelites, as they are about to make their home in Zion, that the land fundamentally belongs to God; they are “but aliens and tenants.” God speaks of the land so specifically, outlining how we are to behave in relation to the land because of God’s particular care for it. Without our genuine care for the land we cannot properly care for God’s people, or, consequently, respond to God in the manner that God instructs. By midcentury the world’s population will reach nine billion people, yet already one in seven is underfed or chronically malnourished. Our use of the land now is certainly as important to God as it was in the time of the Israelites. How can we be wise and compassionate users of this land given to us, remembering that we are all still “but aliens and tenants” in God’s land? Deuteronomy 24:19-22 reminds us how to respond when we receive the gift from the Earth “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all your undertakings. When you beat your olive trees, do not strip what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not glean what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow. Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this.” How can we apply this today when we are so far removed from the land, when all we see is processed food in the stores and when so much food is thrown out and wasted while nearly one seventh or more of the world’s population don’t have decent meal or starving? This old testament message is repeated by Jesus in different ways:” When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ He said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep. Every creature that lives depends upon the sacrifices of countless others that decompose, fertilize, pollinate, and feed the world. We become worthy of God’s offering of the world to us by offering ourselves to it in acts of care and celebration. Eating is one of the most basic ways we learn to delight in each other and the goodness of creation, Eating together is one of the most important and practical means for overcoming the barriers and ignorance that separate us from each other. When we eat, we participate in an ecological and agricultural act that joins us to all the members of creation. God cares about whether or not our fields are fertile and our waters clean. God cares about the treatment of animals and about the well being of the land’s workers and eaters (Psalm 23). Eating together as a church family is itself an act of communion. It is in a way a lethargy of thanksgiving and remembrance. Communion can happen when we gather together and break bread. More than a pious act, real gratitude commits us to remember and care for other creatures that make their way to our tables and dinner plates. God wants our eating to express thanksgiving for the flavor, aroma, and freshness of the world. -- Solomon B
Posted on: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 03:43:32 +0000
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