~John 4.1-38 I'm looking for what I can learn about food from this. Jesus asked for water when he was tired by the long walk from Judea to Galilee. He compared the spiritual life that he as to give to living water. By now I'm noticing how common these food and drink pictures are.
Sometimes I have no desire for a particular food someone is offering to me. Maybe I'm not hungry, or it doesn't look that good, or maybe I am hungry and it looks great, but it's all white flour, sugar and salt which I try to avoid. But usually I will eat at least a little of it anyway for the sake of the person offering. I appreciate that she wants to give me this perceived pleasure or comfort, and I want to offer something back: my thanks and satisfaction with the food. My kids seem to have none at all of this obligation to nicely and unquestioningly accept what their mom offers. Apparently Jesus felt no such need either. More than that, he kind of belittled his disciples' offer by saying he had other food they didn't know anything about--spiritual food. Steve Martin might say, "Well, ex-cuuuuse me!"
Then we have another analogy, the white fields.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Two Questions, nothing to do with food
Trivia Question: The most famous verse in the Bible, John 3:16, was said by whom to whom?
Pondering Question: When Jesus said to Nicodemus that "truly no one can see the reign of God unless he is born from above," was he offering that as the reason Nic didn't understand? What would being "born from above" or born again mean to a first century Jew?
Pondering Question: When Jesus said to Nicodemus that "truly no one can see the reign of God unless he is born from above," was he offering that as the reason Nic didn't understand? What would being "born from above" or born again mean to a first century Jew?
Monday, February 7, 2011
Wine 1
~John 2.10b “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”
Wine has caused a lot of happiness, a lot of pain. Jesus apparently, maybe obviously, had no problem with its consumption. And yet my mom grew up in a church that taught any and all alcohol consumption was evil.
Wine has caused a lot of happiness, a lot of pain. Jesus apparently, maybe obviously, had no problem with its consumption. And yet my mom grew up in a church that taught any and all alcohol consumption was evil.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Jesus' fasting and the bread temptation
~Matthew 4.1-2 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted(or tested) by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
Putting aside the discussion of Jesus being led by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil, I want to think about the fasting. Jesus fasted for well over five weeks! And I doubt he had protein drinks as a supplement. We have no clear word of why Jesus fasted. Why would the Holy Spirit want him to stop the normal, natural daily intake of food? Does voluntary physical hunger have a spiritual benefit? It teaches dependence on God? It dials up our sensitivity to other realms of life? It humbles? Ah. Sacrifice releases power. I remember. Jesus was going to need plenty of power to accomplish his mission.
~Matthew 4.3-4 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’ (Deut 8.3).”
Of course people want to eat when they are hungry. Of course, Jesus was hungry after such a long fast. What would have been wrong with turning the stones to bread? Maybe nothing except that the idea came from Satan. The devil was trying to make eating a priority over getting God’s word. Peterson says, “Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: ‘It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God's mouth.’" But hadn’t Jesus just spent forty days in steady-stream communion with the father? Isn’t that what the whole wilderness/fasting experience was about?* Since he’d been without food for that entire time, his hunger seems a reasonable normal biological need, not just human appetite. So I’m left wondering why turning stones to bread would have been on the list of the big three temptations.
*But maybe Jesus wasn’t in communion with the Father for that time. Maybe it was what we might call an authentic God-where-are-you wilderness experience. We fast to get closer and more in tune with God. But maybe Jesus’ entire fasting period was actually an experience of not being so in tune. Whereas in Matthew this temptation is said to be at the end of the forty days; in both Mark and Luke it sounds like the temptation continued all during the forty days. It would make sense coming out of a long dry period that Jesus should look for restoration with God before merely eating. (This raises more questions. Worship first. But wasn't he able to worship in the dessert? I dunno.)
Mark (1.12-13) says nothing about the temptations themselves, but adds details that “Jesus was with the wild animals and angels attended to him.” Here’s a sentence full of interesting images and conjecture. If not feeding him, how would angels attend to a man gone so long without food?
Maybe the thing wrong with turning stones to bread is that God’s miracles are for needs that cannot be met in natural ways. Probably Jesus could have gone into town and made his own bread. Or more likely, he’d have gone into town and some friends or family would see him and say, ‘You look awful! Come on over and let me fix you something to eat.” So maybe turning the stones to bread would have been short circuiting some building of community that God wanted to do. I think of Anthony Campolo’s story: “No, we’re not going to pray for the money to meet this need. You and I are going to open our wallets right now and meet this need!” Maybe that’s why turning the stones to bread was not in God’s will and thus called a temptation.
The other thing I notice here is that the first, most basic thing our Lord thinks of when he is hungry is bread. Not locusts. Not wild honey, like his cousin John. Not a cheeseburger and apple pie like a modern man might envision. Just bread. It’s been called the staff of life—a staple or necessary food. He wanted bread and he was tempted by bread. Bread is good and desirable, but at the wrong time, place, amount, or kind, we can be tempted to sin by it.
~Luke 2.37 [The prophetic widow Anna] never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.
More release of power by her fasting?
Putting aside the discussion of Jesus being led by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil, I want to think about the fasting. Jesus fasted for well over five weeks! And I doubt he had protein drinks as a supplement. We have no clear word of why Jesus fasted. Why would the Holy Spirit want him to stop the normal, natural daily intake of food? Does voluntary physical hunger have a spiritual benefit? It teaches dependence on God? It dials up our sensitivity to other realms of life? It humbles? Ah. Sacrifice releases power. I remember. Jesus was going to need plenty of power to accomplish his mission.
~Matthew 4.3-4 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’ (Deut 8.3).”
Of course people want to eat when they are hungry. Of course, Jesus was hungry after such a long fast. What would have been wrong with turning the stones to bread? Maybe nothing except that the idea came from Satan. The devil was trying to make eating a priority over getting God’s word. Peterson says, “Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: ‘It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God's mouth.’" But hadn’t Jesus just spent forty days in steady-stream communion with the father? Isn’t that what the whole wilderness/fasting experience was about?* Since he’d been without food for that entire time, his hunger seems a reasonable normal biological need, not just human appetite. So I’m left wondering why turning stones to bread would have been on the list of the big three temptations.
*But maybe Jesus wasn’t in communion with the Father for that time. Maybe it was what we might call an authentic God-where-are-you wilderness experience. We fast to get closer and more in tune with God. But maybe Jesus’ entire fasting period was actually an experience of not being so in tune. Whereas in Matthew this temptation is said to be at the end of the forty days; in both Mark and Luke it sounds like the temptation continued all during the forty days. It would make sense coming out of a long dry period that Jesus should look for restoration with God before merely eating. (This raises more questions. Worship first. But wasn't he able to worship in the dessert? I dunno.)
Mark (1.12-13) says nothing about the temptations themselves, but adds details that “Jesus was with the wild animals and angels attended to him.” Here’s a sentence full of interesting images and conjecture. If not feeding him, how would angels attend to a man gone so long without food?
Maybe the thing wrong with turning stones to bread is that God’s miracles are for needs that cannot be met in natural ways. Probably Jesus could have gone into town and made his own bread. Or more likely, he’d have gone into town and some friends or family would see him and say, ‘You look awful! Come on over and let me fix you something to eat.” So maybe turning the stones to bread would have been short circuiting some building of community that God wanted to do. I think of Anthony Campolo’s story: “No, we’re not going to pray for the money to meet this need. You and I are going to open our wallets right now and meet this need!” Maybe that’s why turning the stones to bread was not in God’s will and thus called a temptation.
The other thing I notice here is that the first, most basic thing our Lord thinks of when he is hungry is bread. Not locusts. Not wild honey, like his cousin John. Not a cheeseburger and apple pie like a modern man might envision. Just bread. It’s been called the staff of life—a staple or necessary food. He wanted bread and he was tempted by bread. Bread is good and desirable, but at the wrong time, place, amount, or kind, we can be tempted to sin by it.
~Luke 2.37 [The prophetic widow Anna] never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.
More release of power by her fasting?
Food as metaphor
~Matthew 3.8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
We are to produce fruit, metaphorically, so God must consider fruit good. Fruit is good.
~Matthew 3.10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
Fruit itself is good, but this verse makes a distinction of “good fruit.” So some fruit can apparently be bad.
~Matthew 3.12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
Again we have a food metaphor. God’s followers are like wheat, good and desirable for preserving, but the inedible chaff is just in the way and will be destroyed
We are to produce fruit, metaphorically, so God must consider fruit good. Fruit is good.
~Matthew 3.10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
Fruit itself is good, but this verse makes a distinction of “good fruit.” So some fruit can apparently be bad.
~Matthew 3.12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
Again we have a food metaphor. God’s followers are like wheat, good and desirable for preserving, but the inedible chaff is just in the way and will be destroyed
John the Baptist, locusts and wild honey
~Luke 1.15 (New International Version, ©2010) for [John] will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.
Jesus' first recorded miracle is turning water into wine, yet John is not to drink it. John was such an "out there" guy anyway, perhaps people could have pinned it on the wine if he'd been a drinker at all. Abstinence is a special calling for people set apart. Jesus is the bridegroom whose presence is to be celebrated.
~Matthew 3:4 John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. Also Mark 1.6
I picture John as a wild haired, back-to-nature guy. Apparently he didn’t do processed food. Locusts. Ok, so can we assume he’s not picky about his food? Locusts, the protein. And honey, the carbohydrate. Where are the veggies, John? Are there no dandelion greens the wilderness? I read that honey contains “small amounts of a wide array of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants.” Maybe Matthew is just trying to set up John as an extreme kind of guy and neglects to mention the more normal aspects of his diet. But at any rate, although I have no desire to eat bugs, it’s nice to know that honey was a favored food.
Jesus' first recorded miracle is turning water into wine, yet John is not to drink it. John was such an "out there" guy anyway, perhaps people could have pinned it on the wine if he'd been a drinker at all. Abstinence is a special calling for people set apart. Jesus is the bridegroom whose presence is to be celebrated.
~Matthew 3:4 John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. Also Mark 1.6
I picture John as a wild haired, back-to-nature guy. Apparently he didn’t do processed food. Locusts. Ok, so can we assume he’s not picky about his food? Locusts, the protein. And honey, the carbohydrate. Where are the veggies, John? Are there no dandelion greens the wilderness? I read that honey contains “small amounts of a wide array of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants.” Maybe Matthew is just trying to set up John as an extreme kind of guy and neglects to mention the more normal aspects of his diet. But at any rate, although I have no desire to eat bugs, it’s nice to know that honey was a favored food.
Why I'm Thinking about Food and Faith
I am interested in the Bible and interested in food. Since I’d like to know more about both and understand them better, I’m starting through a chronological Bible, New Testament first, looking for any and all references to food, drink, and eating. Yes, it's been done before. But I want to see for myself what I can learn.
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