Strength for Swimming

~Acts 27.18, 20-21

The next day, as gale-force winds continued to batter the ship, the crew began throwing the cargo overboard. . . . . The terrible storm raged for many days, blotting out the sun and the stars, until at last all hope was gone. No one had eaten for a long time. Finally, Paul called the crew together and said, . . . . "Take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down."

~Acts 27.33-39

Just as day was dawning, Paul urged everyone to eat. “You have been so worried that you haven’t touched food for two weeks,” he said. “Please eat something now for your own good. For not a hair of your heads will perish.” Then he took some bread, gave thanks to God before them all, and broke off a piece and ate it. Then everyone was encouraged and began to eat—all 276 of us who were on board. After eating, the crew lightened the ship further by throwing the cargo of wheat overboard. When morning dawned, . . . they saw a bay with a beach . . . .

I don't know if people weren't eating because they felt seasick from the rolling of the boat in the storm or because they had given up hope of life. Apparently available food on board was nothing highly desired or some may have wanted it just for the comfort in a perilous time or even for enjoyment, like a last meal indulgence; "eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you die."

At any rate, when Paul shared with them that an angel had come to him in the night with assurance that all would live, hope was renewed and they were able to follow his example and eat. The food gave them strength--which they were about to need for swimming to shore! In our day and culture, food is so abundant that we don't often think of it as giving strength. In fact, we have such a wealth of eats available on every hand, that we over-consume and strength is sapped when we slip into post-meal lethargy.

Sleeping in "Church" Leads to Meaningful Meeting

~Acts 20.7-12

On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking, . . .and he prolonged his message until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together. And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead. But Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, “Do not be troubled, for his life is in him.” When he had gone back up and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left. They took away the boy alive, and were greatly comforted.

Wouldn't we love to have more details of this story. The group gathers to "break bread." That could mean they gathered to have a meal together, but since the talk came first and went on until midnight, it seems more likely they gathered to take the sacrament of communion, honoring the death of Christ. Warm light flickers from the lamps; Paul's voice intones on and on. The teenager Eutychus, whose name means fortunate one, slowly slips into daze phase and then his body relaxes into sleep. One moment he is there; the next there's a soft shuffling sound, and whoosh, he's gone!

Who saw it? Maybe his friends who had been watching and snickering as he drifted off? What excitement for them! Maybe Paul who would have been facing his audience was the one to sound the alarm. Certainly it wasn't his mother, for we know that no self-respecting mom would have let her kid fall asleep in such a spot. Did the audience hear the scrape of his sandals against the wall as he fell from the window sill or the thud as the body hit the ground below? Maybe no one really saw him go, but hearing a sound, a curious person standing nearby went to the window and looked down.

Either way, the alarm was sounded and doubtless there was a sudden speedy exit from the room as everyone rushed down the stairs, Eutychus' family with some fear I would guess. Young's Literal Translation says the youth was "lifted up dead." What does Paul do? The translations have different views, from J.B. Phillips' "bent over him and holding him gently in his arms" to the statement of The Message that Paul "stretched himself on him, and hugged him hard."

Gently or vigorously, the boy was revived, much to everyone's relief. After returning to the room, the thankful believers having just looked death in the face and experienced an amazing resuscitation, shared the Lord's supper. Perhaps they were more attentive after that, as the text says Paul continued talking with them until dawn. What a service that would have been to attend.

Scary Verse

~Romans 11.9 And David says:
“May their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them. "

This is Paul quoting what David says in Psalm 69--a scary verse. People who have little to eat and who give it little thought are unlikely to suffer this plight. But when the table is laden with plenty of variety and rich fare, as are most tables in the US today, it's possible for people to get so focused on the food, the comfort, the affluence, that they can lose track of what really matters: their spiritual lives and relationship with God.


~Romans 11:16 If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.

. . . another hats off to the power of spreading yeast in dough.

Communion

~I Corinthians 11.17-34

This passage is familiar to anyone who was raised in a traditional church. Christ giving his life, his physical body and blood, for the salvation of mankind is the foundation of Christianity. This giving is symbolically remembered to this day. How? By the sacrament of Communion: we are privileged to take in the bread of his body and the wine of his blood. This is how he shows his profound love and sacrifice. The symbolic eating and drinking is how we receive it.

Ron Sider in his 1977 Christian Century article "Sharing the Wealth: The Church as Biblical Model for Public Policy" further expounds these verses:

"In Christ there is one new person, one new body of believers. When the brothers and sisters share the one bread and the common cup in the Lord’s Supper, they symbolize and actualize their participation in the one body of Christ. That is why the class divisions at Corinth so horrified Paul. Wealthy Christians, apparently, were feasting at the eucharistic celebrations while poor believers went hungry. Paul angrily denied that they were eating the Lord’s body and blood because they did not discern his body (vv. 27-29). By this Paul meant that they failed to realize that their membership in the one body of Christ was infinitely more important than the class or ethnic differences which divided them. One brings judgment on oneself if one does not perceive that eucharistic fellowship with Christ is totally incompatible with living a practical denial of that unity of all believers in his body. As long as one Christian anywhere in the world is hungry, the eucharistic celebration of all Christians everywhere is incomplete."

(As I side note, I do wonder why Paul refers to eating the bread and drinking the cup. Why not eating the dish and drinking the cup, or even better, eating the bread and drinking the wine?)

Eat for God's Glory

~I Corinthians 10:3-5, 6-7, 15-22, 25-31

~25-26 So you may eat any meat that is sold in the marketplace without raising questions of conscience. For “the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”

~31 So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

In this chapter Paul covers several food-related topics (see labels), but there is nothing specific about a particular food. I print only the key verses 25-26 and 31.

Another interesting point here is the connection between idols and demons. Surely it's possible to make an idol of food. Be careful, Ruthie!

Is unleavened bread better?

~I Corinthians 5.6-8

Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Here's another use of the spreading capabilities of yeast. Here Paul implies that in keeping the Passover, in remembering the sacrifice of Christ, unleavened bread is more appropriate.

I'll ponder the Passover lamb next time.

Tortillas

After a week in Mexico, I'm thinking about tortillas. The tortillas I saw readily available in Mazatlan neighborhoods are made in small family storefront rooms with a tortilla machine. Piles and piles of them are made daily from dough which seemed to be pretty much just white flour and water. Salt I suppose. These are formed into flat rounds, baked, and served up with a wide variety of meals. Wikipedia tells me that this Mexican staple has grown to be a mainstream food and now has passed bagels and muffins to become the number two packaged bread product in the US.

I wonder how the bread of Bible times, unleavened kosher flat bread I suppose, would compare to a Mexican tortilla?

False Teaching Compared to Yeast

~Galatians 5.9 This false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough!

As Jesus does in Luke 12 and 13, Paul too uses the amazing permeating property of yeast to make a point.

Eating together is a valuable part believers' lives.

~Acts 2.42-43, 46-47 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. . . . . They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

For all the wealth it contains, the Bible is not a big book, and the New Testament only about a quarter of the whole. Therefore, every detail carries weight and repetition carries more weight. Twice in this short passage Luke says that the first believers in Christ ate together. He wants readers to hear this. Eating together is part of the life of the church, of the fellowship of believers. We need to eat; we eat together. Christianity is not a solitary pursuit.

Sharing Meals

~Acts 2.42, 46-47 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. . . . . They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

Eating together is part of the Christian life.

The Fisherman and the Master, part 2

~John 21.1-19

"Don't think about it. You can't change the past. You can't change what happened. You're a big-mouth boasting idiot with no more guts than the fish you clean, a pathetic excuse of a friend who bails out when the things get tough. You're a worse traitor than Judas. At least Judas had the balls to face Jesus and betray him outright." The more Peter's thoughts accused him the harder he worked. Even though the air was sweet and cool as dawn approached, sweat poured down his bare back.

It had been his idea to come to the lake. After all, they were just sitting around wondering when and how the Lord would appear to them again, wondering if he would appear again. While words could barely express the amazement and joy they had felt at seeing Jesus alive, still, when left to themselves, they had no idea what to do next. Often it had been Peter who had the ideas. But since that night of the arrest, he was so immersed in his own failure he could barely function. And unlike the others, his relief and joy at seeing Jesus was tempered with shame.

Abruptly he had ceased pacing the room and announced, "I'm going fishing."

Although it was late in the night, most of them jumped to their feet too. Work was better than just waiting to see what came next. But it had been pointless work, as it turned out. All night they'd caught nothing.

None of his companions dared say anything to Peter as he worked furiously, rowing to re-position the boat, sharpening their fishing knives, anything to stay busy. Peter's restless activity stood in sharp contrast to the quiet of the water and the other men. The sails hung as empty as the nets and as their hopes for a catch.

Then, just before dawn broke, someone hailed them from beside a fire on the shore. "Young men! Have you caught anything?"

"Nothing," Thomas yelled.

The man on the beach called back, "Throw out your net on the right side of the boat and see what happens."

Peter paused, wiped an arm across his forhead and reached for a drink of water. The rest of them, happy for distraction, humored the odd request and threw the net over. Within minutes there were fish, not just a few fish, but as many as the net could hold. Suddenly, Peter's full attention was riveted on the man on the shore.

"It's the Lord," said John, voicing the thought of all.

Without hesitation, without deliberation, Peter grabbed his tunic, threw it over his head and plunged into the sea, swimming for land with all his might. Only as his feet touched bottom and he walked up dripping from the cold, shallow water did he realize that he had nothing to say to his one-time Master and friend. It was the third time he'd seen Jesus since the resurrection. The other times had been in a room with everyone there, James, John, Andrew, all of them. Jesus had paid Peter no special attention. Why should he? Peter felt his own failure deeply, but he did not know how to express the anguish of his regret. He had betrayed the Lord. That was an irrefutable fact of history. Still, he was drawn to Jesus.

Wet and cold Peter went to the fire and stooped without a word to warm himself. As he did, he was hit with a horrible deja vu: dawn breaking, Peter shivering, warm fire, Jesus nearby. Unbidden, the scene replayed in his mind. The servant girl stares and accuses him, "He's one of them!" Peter denies it. "I don't know him!" Three times someone had suggested he was a follower of Jesus, and three times he had denied it—once with an oath. How could he have lost his nerve, his commitment, so completely? And then Jesus had turned to him just as the rooster crowed. It had happened exactly as the Lord, who knew him so well, had predicted, and just as Peter, who apparently knew himself so little, had poo-foo'd as impossible. Well, he knew better now. And what he saw of himself was weak and ugly.

Peter miserably rubbed his hands and stared into the fire as he remembered these words of the Lord: “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven." Denied before Yahweh. And deservedly so. There was no more reason to live or to die. Peter shuddered, not entirely from the cold.

The boat had not been far from land, so the others approached within minutes, towing the laden net of fish. Jesus was tending some bread on the fire, getting ready for breakfast. "Bring some of your fish," he said. Mechanically, Peter rose and dragged the net in as the others gathered eagerly around the Master. Yes, they too had been afraid. They had even run. But they had not so blatantly denied him. They could interact with him now without shame.

Soon fish crackled on the coals and everyone but Peter enjoyed the catch and the bread that Jesus had prepared.

Afterwards, as the sun climbed, Peter walked away from the circle of fellowship where he felt an outsider. But Jesus followed. For the first time since the terrible event, the Lord spoke to Peter directly, using his formal name. "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others?"

There had been a time, it seemed long ago, when Peter was sure he loved the Lord more than any of the others. "Yes, Lord," he answered without conviction. "You know I love you."

"Then feed my lambs."

What did that mean? Before Peter could decide, Jesus asked again, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"

"Yes, Lord. You know I love you."

"Take care of my sheep."

Peter's misery increased. Obviously the Lord saw right through him and the profound limits of the meager, piddling love which was all he had to give.

Jesus stopped walking, stepped in front and put his hands on Peter's shoulders to look into his face, but Peter could only study his sandy feet. "Simon son of John, do you love me?"

Finally, Peter looks up and meets Jesus’ eyes. Tears gather. "Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you."

"Feed . . . my . . . sheep."

Feed my sheep. At last Peter is able to hear. It’s a commission. Even he, with all of his weakness and self-loathing, is not rejected. He is restored! The Lord will still use him. Can it be?

Jesus answers the question in Peter's eyes. "I tell you the truth, when you were young you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” These sobering words prophesied death. Peter understood. He was reinstated into the Kingdom he thought had been lost to him forever; this time he would be faithful until death. Jesus knew. Jesus could see it. Peter would still get an opportunity to bring glory to God. Relief and joy washed over him.

"Follow me," said Jesus. And Peter did.

In the days following, Peter and all the believers were filled with the Holy Spirit, so that they no longer sat wondering what to do. They had a broken world to reach with the message of Jesus' good news. On that Pentecost it is Peter who tells the people, "God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” And when the people hear this and are cut to the heart and ask what they should do, it is Peter who answers with confidence from his own rejection and restoration, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

The Risen Lord Eats

~Luke 24.30-31 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.

I love the Emmaus Road story. Love it. We learn nothing new about food here, but it's a beautiful picture of the risen Lord taking bread, giving thanks for it, breaking the loaf and sharing it. I do wonder why it was the guest who did this and not the host.

~Luke 24.39-43 "Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.

~Mark 16.14 says he appeared to the disciples as they were eating.

Remember the little girl Jesus raised from the dead? The first thing he said to her parents was to get her something to eat. Here in his first recorded post-resurrection appearance to his disciples, Jesus also asks for food. Was he really hungry or was he just reassuring them again with the reality of his physical presence?

Bread: vehicle for blessing or a curse

~John 13.21, 26-27 Now Jesus was deeply troubled, and he exclaimed, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me!” . . . .
Jesus responded, “It is the one to whom I give the bread I dip in the bowl.” And when he had dipped it, he gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. When Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus told him, “Hurry and do what you’re going to do.”

Hmmm. All at the table ate the same bread. The disciples ate it as the symbolic "body of Christ," accepting Jesus' explanation though they did not yet understand it's meaning. Judas completely missed the point but ate it anyway, and Satan had access to him.

Bread, representing food, can be a way for God to bless or for Satan to curse.

The Lord's Supper

~Matthew 26.16-30, Mark 14.12-26, Luke 22.7-38, John 13

Bread. Wine. Such important symbols of the Jewish and Christian faiths.

The Passover Meal is full of meaning, which I think will be better considered from the Old Testament explanations when I get to that point.

Now, I only note again that meals are an important part of life, sometimes setting for significant conversations and symbolism.

People enjoy food.

~Matthew 24.37-42 “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.
“Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.
“So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming.

People enjoy food--even when judgement is at the door.

The second thing that stands out to me here is how much preparing for food was part of daily life, far much more than today. Today we may spend all day at an office or factory or shop or school then pick up something out of a package for dinner. In those days, the average person spent much more time growing and preparing food. Working in the fields, grinding grain--common scenes. I bet that fresh bread from the newly ground grain was delicious.

Breakfast in China

We were fortunate to be able to visit China and are just adjusting to return. We enjoyed some fabulous meals there. It's interesting to see the difference from western tastes. Consider breakfast. At home, Americans love their cereal and milk. We did not see this on either of our excursions to China as cold food is not considered a good start to the day. Of course we were mainly having breakfast at hotel buffets, not in homes. Thin, hot rice porridge, congee, served with some minced pork or pickled vegetables, is common. Steamed buns. Cellophane or other noodles. Various preparations of tofu. Fish. Thousand-year eggs. Warm fresh soy milk (yummy!). No dairy except yogurt. Sweet potato. Cabbage. Fruit. These things are commonly seen on a breakfast buffet.

I love some parts of this meal like the just-made soy milk and the sweet potato (or squash). But all the wheat and rice products I saw were processed white--bread, rolls, dumpling and spring roll wrappers, noodles. The first missed item I wanted when I got back home last time was Raisin Bran (labeled Raisin Barn in the one hotel that had it). This time it was just a piece of whole wheat toast.

Grinding

~Luke 17.35 Two women will be grinding flour together at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.

It's a stretch, but I'm inclined to make an argument for whole grain here--women grinding the wheat (or maybe some other grain) for the day's flour for the daily bread. These moms aren't picking up a loaf of Wonder Bread at the local market. Surely it's like Great Harvest, ground fresh daily with none of the nutrient-dense parts thrown out to make a lighter, whiter product.

Yeast 2

~Luke 13.20-21 He also asked, “What else is the Kingdom of God like? It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”

The Luke 12.1 reference to yeast was negative: hypocrisy spreads like yeast through dough. This uses the same spreading yeast to communicate how a tiny bit of the Kingdom of God can also spread far and wide to accomplish a good purpose. Yea!

Yeast

~Luke 12.1 Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Yeast and its relationship to health is a complex topic I don't know much about. It can be harmful to the body when present in abnormally high quantities. Jesus uses it as a metaphor for hypocrisy. I always thought that was just because yeast can grow and spread, but there could be more to it. I think we will see yeast again.

Cavemen ate no bread, so . . . .

Bread has so many positive mentions in the Bible that I want to throw in a word here about a current dietary trend that does not allow bread, the paleolithic diet. Some people's search for optimal health or for relief from various allergies leads them to this diet. It consists of only foods hunter-gatherer, pre-agricultural cave men would have had available to eat: meat and eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, maybe some olive oil or nut oils. That's about it. Glaringly absent from this list is grains (wheat, rice, corn) and legumes (beans, peas, lentils, soy, peanuts). As I understand it, since these foods cannot be eaten raw they are not accepted as something early man would have eaten and therefore not accepted as part of the optimal diet for humans. Paleo-eaters say GOOD-BYE to the 1990s VERSION FOOD PYRAMID

Specific to bone density, I have read in a few places that too much of the fiber found in grains and legumes can interfere with calcium absorption and therefore contribute to weaker bones. I will continue to avoid white flour, which seems to be everywhere in our U.S. diet (pasta, buns, snacks, cookies). But based on the Bible's clear blessing on eating bread (whole grain bread) as a good thing I am deciding now to not worry about cutting out or drastically reducing grain consumption. Jesus blessed bread and that's good enough for me.