~Mark 7.1-5 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were . . . unwashed. (The Pharisees . . . do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing . . . . When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they . . . [wash] cups, pitchers and kettles.)
So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”
First, I want to point out that while Jewish culture has honored the value of hand washing since centuries before Christ, it wasn't until the mid 1800's that Western culture began to catch on to the benefits of this. Here, it's not the hand washing, but the legalism that Jesus is resisting.
~Mark 7.18-23 [Jesus replied.] "Don't you see that what you swallow can't contaminate you? It doesn't enter your heart but your stomach, works its way through the intestines, and is finally flushed." (That took care of dietary quibbling; Jesus was saying that all foods are fit to eat.)
He went on: "It's what comes out of a person that pollutes: obscenities, lusts, thefts, murders, adulteries, greed, depravity, deceptive dealings, carousing, mean looks, slander, arrogance, foolishness—all these are vomit from the heart. There is the source of your pollution."
So if "all foods are fit to eat" why bother with this what-to-eat study? The food and health situation today is profoundly different than in the first century. At that time, people walked everywhere, even to cities miles away. Their daily work was in large part physical labor. And they got their food from local farmers at the marketplace. Today we aren't nearly so physically active; we do desk labor; and most Americans get their food from packages made in distant places by ConAgra, Kellogs, and Kraft.
Quite possibly if the average first century guy gave no thought to it but just ate what most people in the culture around him were eating, he'd have a strong chance of being in reasonably good condition.
I assert that today in the USA if a person gives no thought to it but just eats what most others around him are eating he will, eventually, get fat and sick. This is the default mode.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Real Bread
~John 6.35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
~John 6.51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
Jesus is the bread of life, the staple, the basic necessity to keep us going. This metaphor blesses bread, real bread, as something valuable to our diets. I don't mean the fluffy, nutrient-stripped stuff, bleached white with a handful of vitamins added back in; I don't mean donuts or plain bagels or the usual pasta. I mean food made from fiber-rich, nutrient-dense whole grain. (You can get some at Great Harvest Bakery which grinds the wheat for the day's flour every morning. Yummy!)
I will add a footnote, a foodnote, on the no-carb, high-protein diet. Yes, it's possible to loose weight on this, but if we were eating real grain rather than the highly processed stuff in the cookies, crackers, breads, muffins, pastas, and cakes that fill grocery store shelves, we could keep the bread and eat more healthful amounts of the meat.
~John 6.51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
Jesus is the bread of life, the staple, the basic necessity to keep us going. This metaphor blesses bread, real bread, as something valuable to our diets. I don't mean the fluffy, nutrient-stripped stuff, bleached white with a handful of vitamins added back in; I don't mean donuts or plain bagels or the usual pasta. I mean food made from fiber-rich, nutrient-dense whole grain. (You can get some at Great Harvest Bakery which grinds the wheat for the day's flour every morning. Yummy!)
I will add a footnote, a foodnote, on the no-carb, high-protein diet. Yes, it's possible to loose weight on this, but if we were eating real grain rather than the highly processed stuff in the cookies, crackers, breads, muffins, pastas, and cakes that fill grocery store shelves, we could keep the bread and eat more healthful amounts of the meat.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Eating in the desert with Jesus
The language is quaint, but I really like this commentary on the feeding-five-thousand story from http://mhc.biblecommenter.com/matthew/14.htm
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
14:13-21 When Christ and his word withdraw, it is best for us to follow, seeking the means of grace for our souls before any worldly advantages. The presence of Christ and his gospel, makes a desert not only tolerable, but desirable. This little supply of bread was increased by Christ's creating power, till the whole multitude were satisfied. In seeking the welfare of men's souls, we should have compassion on their bodies likewise. Let us also remember always to crave a blessing on our meals, and learn to avoid all waste, as frugality is the proper source of liberality. See in this miracle an emblem of the Bread of life, which came down from heaven to sustain our perishing souls. The provisions of Christ's gospel appear mean and scanty to the world, yet they satisfy all that feed on him in their hearts by faith with thanksgiving.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
14:13-21 When Christ and his word withdraw, it is best for us to follow, seeking the means of grace for our souls before any worldly advantages. The presence of Christ and his gospel, makes a desert not only tolerable, but desirable. This little supply of bread was increased by Christ's creating power, till the whole multitude were satisfied. In seeking the welfare of men's souls, we should have compassion on their bodies likewise. Let us also remember always to crave a blessing on our meals, and learn to avoid all waste, as frugality is the proper source of liberality. See in this miracle an emblem of the Bread of life, which came down from heaven to sustain our perishing souls. The provisions of Christ's gospel appear mean and scanty to the world, yet they satisfy all that feed on him in their hearts by faith with thanksgiving.
Hard-to-swallow Metaphore
~John 6.32-35 Jesus said to them, “. . . it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
“Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
~John 6.48-58 I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
~John 6.66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
When Jesus challenges the recently fed, enthusiastic crowd of admirers with this gross picture, they back off. Eating human flesh and drinking any blood is not on the menu. Why would he state life in the kingdom of God in this repulsive way? Why make it more difficult to accept?
Jesus knows the heart of man so well. When he presents himself to the people as the bread which will enable them to never hunger again, everyone wants some. I can imagine arguments breaking out as each scuffles for his place in the "Free Magic Bread!" line. But Christ isn't looking for people who want a bargain. He wants dedicated, radically loving followers who are so identified with him that it's as if they've consumed his very being. They are not just buying into a philosophy of life or a religion; they are one with him. The cost is high. Theologian Bill Jackson (http://www.nothinsgonnastopit.com/blog) used to tell us that it's not so much "God has a wonderful plan for your life" as it is "come and die."
Then we get the real bread which satisfies completely and lasts for eternity, and that is the wonderful plan for our lives.
“Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
~John 6.48-58 I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
~John 6.66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
When Jesus challenges the recently fed, enthusiastic crowd of admirers with this gross picture, they back off. Eating human flesh and drinking any blood is not on the menu. Why would he state life in the kingdom of God in this repulsive way? Why make it more difficult to accept?
Jesus knows the heart of man so well. When he presents himself to the people as the bread which will enable them to never hunger again, everyone wants some. I can imagine arguments breaking out as each scuffles for his place in the "Free Magic Bread!" line. But Christ isn't looking for people who want a bargain. He wants dedicated, radically loving followers who are so identified with him that it's as if they've consumed his very being. They are not just buying into a philosophy of life or a religion; they are one with him. The cost is high. Theologian Bill Jackson (http://www.nothinsgonnastopit.com/blog) used to tell us that it's not so much "God has a wonderful plan for your life" as it is "come and die."
Then we get the real bread which satisfies completely and lasts for eternity, and that is the wonderful plan for our lives.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Rot
~John 6.26-27 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
Because we are so fundamentally attached to our physical selves, this is a hard verse. It's difficult, for me anyway, to keep my eyes on the spiritual, invisible, eternal, the "food" that doesn't spoil. I'm so present with my body and the world as I perceive it through my senses. To disconnect a bit in prayer and meditation is, well, as the verse above says, it's work.
The other principle to be noted here is simply that food spoils. It makes me think of one of Michael Pollan's rules: Don't eat anything that doesn't rot. He has a two-year old Twinkie that has yet to show any sign of decomposing. This return to the soil is a natural part of the physical cycle of life.
Because we are so fundamentally attached to our physical selves, this is a hard verse. It's difficult, for me anyway, to keep my eyes on the spiritual, invisible, eternal, the "food" that doesn't spoil. I'm so present with my body and the world as I perceive it through my senses. To disconnect a bit in prayer and meditation is, well, as the verse above says, it's work.
The other principle to be noted here is simply that food spoils. It makes me think of one of Michael Pollan's rules: Don't eat anything that doesn't rot. He has a two-year old Twinkie that has yet to show any sign of decomposing. This return to the soil is a natural part of the physical cycle of life.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Leftovers!
~John 6.5-13 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
John gives the only version of this event that tells us Jesus was testing Philip when he asked how they were going to feed so many people. Jesus knew that God the father is well able to provide and that he would do so. What did he use to feed such a crowd? Bread and fish. Where are the vegetables? Maybe they had dandelion greens all over that hillside!
The other thing I love about this is the Lord's request that the leftovers be collected so there is no waste. I hate to see things wasted. Here's is the Lord's official endorsement of leftovers! :-]
Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
John gives the only version of this event that tells us Jesus was testing Philip when he asked how they were going to feed so many people. Jesus knew that God the father is well able to provide and that he would do so. What did he use to feed such a crowd? Bread and fish. Where are the vegetables? Maybe they had dandelion greens all over that hillside!
The other thing I love about this is the Lord's request that the leftovers be collected so there is no waste. I hate to see things wasted. Here's is the Lord's official endorsement of leftovers! :-]
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Busy, busy, busy
~Mark 6.31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, [Jesus] said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."
Jesus too had times of being so busy there wasn't even a chance to eat. That's busy. Even if I miss some sleep, or mail, or--let's be honest, Ruth--time focusing on God, I can find a few minutes to stuff something into my mouth. Possibly there was some access to food too, but it's interesting that Jesus calls his guys to a quiet place to rest, not a quiet place to eat.
Jesus too had times of being so busy there wasn't even a chance to eat. That's busy. Even if I miss some sleep, or mail, or--let's be honest, Ruth--time focusing on God, I can find a few minutes to stuff something into my mouth. Possibly there was some access to food too, but it's interesting that Jesus calls his guys to a quiet place to rest, not a quiet place to eat.
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