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

Eating and exclusivity

Jesus' actions at the dinner table also remind us of some of the idolatries of eating. Jesus confronted head-on the exclusivity of the Jewish dinner table. While the Pharisees thought their actions were guarding the quality of their spirituality, the truth is their rules and regulations were actually negating the very thing they were seeking. They had become more consumed with pursuing personal purity than pursing the heart of God. God had given them a means to grace; they had turned the means into an end.

Eating is the gift of God-a gift to be humbly and gratefully received, shared and celebrated. However, when that gift becomes an end in itself, it has become an idol. I have worked for long enough in the hospitality industry to witness the excesses of our society when it comes to eating. In a world where too many have too little to eat, where bulimia and anorexia torture countless lives and where the roller-coaster ride of dieting fads eats away at the self-esteem of countless men and women, to speak only of the positive spirituality of eating is tenuous.

Nevertheless, food remains most fundamentally a provision of God. I live in a wonderful city. The markets, specialty food stores, the diversity of cultures, cafés and restaurants, make this a great place to live. However, I am constantly aware that I need discernment.

With the growing cultural and economic gaps between the haves and have-nots in this country, there are some important issues to consider. In the numerous high-quality recipe books being published, in the journalism of our magazines, newspapers and television shows, and in the proliferation and design of our trendy eating establishments, there is often an increasing élitism of language and lifestyle being packaged and promoted. We may unwittingly be promoting the same exclusivity of the table that the Pharisees so jealously guarded, only with a different table setting. Ask yourself: Do my eating habits promote the values of community, or do they foster the élitism and exclusivity? The challenge is to find ways to celebrate the creativity, providence and goodness of God through eating which leads us into closer solidarity with the whole community rather than broadening the gulfs or narrowing my view of the world.

Perhaps the value of simplicity is a good one to foster: Having more picnics in public parks than brunches in expensive cafés; packing a lunch to share with a colleague or friend rather than gulping down another Big Mac at the drive-through; more one-pot meals with some good bread than elaborate three-course productions where manners and protocol rule. After all, it matters not so much what we eat as how we eat.

To: The Gospel and food

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