A Cook's Confessions
by Simon Holt
Zadok Perspectives Issue No. 62
Spring/Summer 1998/1999

Introduction

What would a spirituality of eating look, or taste, like?

Simon Holt
Simon Holt is a regular contributor to Zadok Perspectives.

JESUS GOT HIMSELF CRUCIFIED by the way that he ate." These are the provocative words of one New Testament commentator. I reckon he's right. Let me explain why.
But first let me start on a personal note. I am intrigued and captivated-my partner would say 'obsessed'-with all things culinary. Food is a passion! I love to think about it, read about it, look at it, buy it, grow it, cook it and of course eat it. Food shops and markets of all kinds are a magnet; I can gaze for hours upon the sumptuous displays of meats, seafoods, fruits, vegetables and condiments, contemplating the endless combinations and possibilities. I know the cafés and restaurants of my city like the back of my hand.

I am also qualified chef; the most creative hours of my life are spent in the kitchen. Recipe books enthrall me. My book shelves are weighed down with well-thumbed tomes on the sociology, anthropology, philosophy, psychology, history, even the theology of eating. There is nothing I would rather do than settle into an evening with friends gathered around our dining room table, or to share the pleasures of good food, wine and conversation in a fine restaurant. Of course, I have other passions-God, the church and theology. But the challenge for me is drawing these passions together. Is it possible?

In Christian circles, any serious discussion of eating inevitably produces only two topics of conversation: fasting and gluttony (either not doing it at all, or doing it too much). The inference is that eating is at best a non-spiritual activity and at worst a hindrance to one's relationship with God. So where does that leave me?

Personally, I find quite fascinating that on every other page of the gospels Jesus is eating and drinking. Now I am not claiming that Jesus shares my "obsession" -he seems much more sensible than that-but as one digs a little deeper into the gospels, it is obvious that the business of eating is something Jesus took very seriously. On my reading of it, one of the more important questions to understanding the mission of Jesus is to ask how, where and with whom he ate. The answer to this question led that commentator to conclude that "Jesus got himself crucified by the way that he ate."

To: Eating with whom?