This week's Bible Study reflection comes from our Thursday night group which has been studying eating in scripture.
Last week we looked at four stories involving food. The first was 1 Kings 17: 7-16 wherein a widow in the town of Zarephath shared the very last of her food with Elijah during a time of drought. She was rewarded with a jug or oil and jar of flour which never ran out until the famine was done. Then we looked at 1 Kings 19: 1-8 when Elijah himself was experiencing serious doubt while sheltering beneath a wilderness tree, but an angel of the Lord came and fed him (twice!) for the long journey to meet God that lay ahead of him. We skipped ahead to Matthew 14: 13-18 and heard the story of Jesus feeding 5000+ people who had come to hear him in the wilderness. Finally we heard the story of Jesus' last meal with his disciples from Matthew 26: 17-30.
All four of these stories have a common theme. The people therein--the widow, the prophet, the followers, the disciples--start from a place of need. The widow was down to her last morsel for her and her son, then expected to die. Elijah actually asked to die in his moment of despair. Like sheep without a shepherd the 5000 men plus extra women and children had no food to eat in the countryside. The disciples suggested that the people be told to depart to buy their own food but what town could have supported that horde? Besides, these were not likely rich and well-fed people to begin with, else they wouldn't have had time to follow Jesus into the wilderness. At the Last Supper Christ's disciples were about to walk into the darkest moment in human history, losing their mentor and friend in the process.
In all of these situations God's answer was the same: Here...take, eat. This is how God chose to express himself...still chooses, really, as we experience him to this day through Holy Communion. Food brings life out of death, strength out of weakness, comfort out of insecurity, unity in the face of potential division, hope out of despair. Eating is a holy experience.
We understand some of this instinctively. There's a reason we eat following funerals, at birthday parties and weddings, whenever and wherever communities gather. This is an important part of God's work, as natural to us as breathing.
We need to be more conscious of our relationship with food and with each other through food as well. How many things do we eat daily that we don't even think about? How many opportunities for togetherness do we miss in our "grab and go" culture? How often do we reduce this holy experience to something common and mundane? In a way every meal should reflect these great meals that we read about in the Bible. Food fills the same functions for us that it did for those Biblical people. We need daily strength, hope, comfort, togetherness, and life. If you doubt that, try going without food for a week or so and see how well you fare! We should not take the power of eating for granted as individuals or a community. Every meal transforms us whether we notice it or not. Understanding that will bring us closer to God, each other, and the true meaning of the things we eat.
Next time you eat, stop and think about the great gift you're experiencing...how this connects you to the prophets and miracle-receivers of old. What a marvelous opportunity to enjoy God and the world he's given you. Don't miss it!
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@genesseelutheranparish.org)
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