So many fishermen

~Mark 1.16-20 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 18 At once they left their nets and followed him. 19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

Fish was obviously an elementary component of the first century diet. Of Jesus’ specifically called twelve disciples, a third of them made their living fishing. I’d think that to have a bigger base of influence he might have chosen his top guys from a more diverse labor pool. Is there some significance to this preponderance of fishermen on the team? Jesus does say these guys will now be fishing for people (another powerful metaphor), but is there something about their fishing expertise that would make them better equipped for this?

Sweet potato chips, Mmm

If you're looking for a yummy healthy snack, try this. A couple of weeks ago Audrey made some sweet potato chips. They were so good, I had to have more. You can find a lot of directions on the internet; here's the gist of it.

Scrub a couple of sweet potatoes (some recommend the red ones) and slice them into rounds as thinly as you can. Put in a bowl and add a couple tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Mix together so the slices get coated with the oil. Spread into a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake. Some recommend 20 minutes at 400*, others an hour at 200*. Try whichever fits into your schedule. Oh, and turning about halfway through is good.

Actually, half of mine, made in the same batch, came out more chewy than crunchy. But they are also really good. Other chips got crunchy as they cooled. Experiment! One pan I baked with just the oil. In the other I added some dill, garlic, and sesame seeds. Both are really good. The sweet potatoes themselves have so much flavor, they don't really need extra seasoning. Yummy and healthy--love it!

Famine and provision

~Luke 4.25-26 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon.

Jesus' point here is that God doesn't play favorites, but what want to note is the statement that for over three years "the sky was shut," resulting, not surprisingly, in famine. This is a story of God's interaction with his people in the Old Testament (II Kings 17). I plan to continue my food study there when I finish the New. And I will look at this amazing record of provision then.

Steve's pizza

Steve made a really good whole wheat crust, highly vegatative pizza tonight. Mmmmm. Tofu probably would have been better than the sardines for the protein, but, I guess the sardines are more like what Jesus would have eaten. :-]

More on the well conversation

~John 4.34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work."

It's great when I feel that I'm engaged in something that God is in, "his work," if you will. But I still want to eat!

~John 4.36 The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike!

Two conversations at the well in Samaria

~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.

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?