Monday, March 02, 2009

Food

over Christmas, I was home in New Orleans (or at least that geographic area) and one of the things that struck me most about the culture of my home is the central role that food plays in our lives. people from New Orleans or South Louisiana, not only eat some of the best food in the world on a regular basis, but we can't stop talking about food. while we eat lunch, we talk about what we would like to have for dinner. we compare the way this dish was prepared to the way others have made similar meals. we reminisce about the best Cajun meals we have ever had. we not only talk about food, but we allow food to be a point of connection for our lives.

i've also really enjoy over the years the conversations i've had in my parent's kitchen at home. our whole family gets into the act of cooking and if there is nothing to do, we sit on the counter or sit at the table and talk about our lives, our desires, our troubles, trivial stories, and of course food. the kitchen is a central place in my parent's home and i would assume that many people have a similar experience. when i meet with friends in their homes (especially in Louisiana), i notice how we nearly always have the deepest/most significant conversations in the kitchen.

it's amazing to me how central food can be in our lives for two reasons. One, food is or should more often be seen as communion. removing the word "communion" from the Christian context for a second, communion can be defined as an act or instance of sharing, and/or intimate fellowship or rapport. having meals with family, having meals with friends, having meals with coworkers, acquaintances, or strangers is an opportunity to act communionally. not only do we share food (or at least share a space to have a meal) but we share stories, experiences, and pieces of our lives. we create a connection with others that builds the foundation for depth, love, and mutual understanding. now consider, how these ideas inform the Christian idea of communion. How is every meal we have with anyone not an act of communing with God and with people?

Two, we can become obsessed with food as comfort, as pleasure or as necessity. with any of these obsessions, we choose and control what we eat (which could raise a whole different question about people who have to eat what others feed them without choices, but i don't want to go there now). i've been fascinated with the idea of fasting, especially since i finished reading Mudhouse Sabbath, as a way of releasing control of a part of myself and allowing God to remind me that food is not as significant as i make it out to be and that there are parts of me that can't handle the loss of control. i think it goes against the very nature of a New Orleans native to fast from any meal. but food can be so central that it distracts us from seeing that we need more than just ourselves to be good or contented people (i'm simplifying with the terms "good and contented" but i think those are core things that people want out of life). What would fasting show me about my life?

last year during Lent (i think), liberti, the church i attend, decided to fast from having communion in church (see how these thoughts are fitting together) for the entire season leading up to Easter. i'd never been in a church where we had communion every Sunday until this church, but i found myself longing regularly for the elements of worship that communion brings. but more than the bread and the wine, i missed hearing one of my peers call me by name and say "body of Christ broken for you, blood of Christ shed for you". it was a significant absence of being reminded that i am in control too often and that i should step aside. but more than that, it was an absence of the reminder of God's affection for me. in its place, liberti set time aside for quiet reflection about what God is doing in our lives and where God is leading us personally or as a church. this fast from communion taught us to seek God more than even the elements of our "meal". and when Easter came, communion was a time of celebration for something all of us had deeply missed in our lives.

food is central and it is meant to be central, but the people and creator we share it with are what makes food significant and powerful.

4 comments:

Wayj said...

wow, great post. i was JUST talking to someone today about the Louisiana fascination with food and talking about your next meal before your current meal's over.

i've definitely found that for me, food covers up a lot of stuff going on beneath the surface. and when i enter those times of fasting, i find a truer image of myself, one that's not nearly as loving or patient or even just nice as i thought i was.

it's that same issue of control, i think. once you're not getting everything you want, how do you handle it. i think willard is the one who said that fasting teaches us how to be loving even when we don't get what we want.

i really miss being a part of liberti and having that weekly communion, i can't imagine what that time of fasting brought out in the community!

Mike said...

I think that the north and a lot of America in general thinks it wasting time to sit, talk and eat. A lot of other cultures think that its completely acceptable. I think that sitting and eating is a great way to get to know people and just have a good time!

Anonymous said...

Fasting from communion. What a different idea. i love all the potential that removing ritual can bring. I very much would like to hear "the body of Christ broken for you". I would miss that as well.

Anonymous said...

great thoughts t-rock! it's amazing how we make food our god instead of remembering that god makes our food.