The Kitchen Sink
An occasional piece of paper
February 20, 2011
Vol. 14 no. 08
If there is a topic dominating Biblical conversation it is food. Dietary laws in the Old Testament and the dilemma of who should you be eating with in the New Testament keep appearing on the table. The Gospels witness to Jesus’ moveable feast: he ate with people he shouldn’t have and probably ate unapproved foods.
Paul was worrying about food, since having been a strict Pharisee, the proper meal was still on his mind. It is not surprising that he described the spiritual pilgrimage of Christians by the kind of food they were eating. Beginners in the faith can only manage milk, while once one’s faith becomes mature, solid food can then be digested. Of course, this was just a metaphor of the kind of instruction and life-style these new Christians could handle, not their actual diet.
After last week’s sermon by St. Andrew’s College student Taylor Croissant on how he is being theologically educated, what we are given to eat matters. For generations a persistent complaint has been that the intellectual leaders of the church – clergy and seminary professors – have kept the good stuff about the Bible and theology hidden from their congregations. We are guilty of only handing out glasses of milk, lukewarm at best, reserving and protecting the filet mignon for ourselves.
Sadly true, but I write these weekly pieces (not blogs, but Sinks!) to make sure our diet is ample for our faith. The Christian faith and life is a lot more nutritious when you can sink your teeth into its ideas and directions. Alas, many of our clergy and laity do not know what a theological steak is and settle for chocolate milk. We deserve to eat better.
Knox-Metropolitan United Church
Regina, Saskatchewan