Food Fight

Learning to love and live with food  

1 Corinthians 11:17-26  Brothers and sisters: In giving this instruction, I do not praise the fact that your meetings are doing more harm than good. First of all, I hear that when you meet as a Church there are divisions among you, and to a degree I believe it; there have to be factions among you in order that also those who are approved among you may become known. When you meet in one place, then, it is not to eat the Lord’s supper, for in eating, each one goes ahead with his own supper, and one goes hungry while another gets drunk. Do you not have houses in which you can eat and drink?   

          In a first grade class, a local school had a religion “show and tell” day. The teacher picked 3 boys to stand up and present their objects to the class. The first boy stood up and said, “Hi, my name is Abram. I’m Jewish and this is a “matzaball”! The second boy got up and said, “Hi, my name is Johnny and I’m Catholic. This is a crucifix.” Finally the third boy got up and said, “Hi, my name is Billy and I’m a Baptist, and this is a casserole.” It is funny how food and faith are often intertwined. I’ve always wondered if more people would come to Mass if we served coffee and donuts afterwards.   

          Just think for a moment about how often food and faith intersect in human history. At the dawn of time in Genesis, Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and food took center stage in the drama of faith. In Exodus, God commands Moses to sprinkle lamb’s blood on the doorposts and to eat unleavened bread. In Daniel, the young prophet refuses to eat from the pagan king’s royal table and defile himself. At the Last Supper, Jesus commands his disciples to eat bread and drink wine in memory of him. And in the first reading today, St. Paul corrects the Corinthians about not confusing their ordinary meal and the Mass. He writes: “When you meet in one place, then, it is not to eat the Lord’s supper, for in eating one goes ahead with his own supper, and one goes hungry, while another gets drunk.” Apparently, the early Christians were bringing casseroles to church, too! But like Adam and Eve, they didn’t understand how food should foster faith rather than damage it. You see, sharing a meal should promote solidarity, not be an occasion of sin.   

          Let me ask you: does food contribute to your faith, or does it conflict with your faith? In other words, does your faith sometimes make eating feel like a “food fight” because you have a love-hate relationship with food? In answering that question we should seek the golden mean between the extremes. Aristotle and Aquinas taught that “virtue always stands in the middle.” On the one hand, avoid the excess of worshiping food. Some of you are thinking about what you’ll eat for dinner right now, and planning your menu in your mind. We have whole cable channels dedicated to nothing but food. Food can become an obsession and an addiction. On other hand, avoid the defect of shunning food by dangerous dieting. People diagnosed with the eating disorder of anorexia and bulimia, feel food is their enemy and wants to kill them. They can’t stand to eat.  And how many poor parents fight with their kids to eat more healthy meals.  Instead of these extremes, try to see food as a gift from God: eat and drink in moderation, and give God thanks for your food.   

          A priest-friend of mine, Fr. Leo Patalinghug, who’s an accomplished chef, wrote a book called Grace Before Meals, where he highly recommends that common Christian practice of praying before meals. Blessing our food reminds us where our food comes from, and where our food should lead us: that is, to closer communion with each other and with God. Food should lead to faith, not to a fight.   

          Praised be Jesus Christ!