Notes for Reflection

August 2                                 NOTES FOR REFLECTION

Texts: Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15; Ephesians 4:1-16; John 6:24-35

Theme:  Clearly something food-centred is called for this week.  The first possibility that came to me is "Eating to Live", which should trigger in some minds "rather than living to eat".  For those who prefer something less processed a possibility might be "Our Daily Bread".  I rather like "Always Enough, Never Too much", which should get the tick of approval from the Heart Foundation, Professor Jim Mann and Dr Nadia Lim, leaving us feeling virtuous (and a tad peckish).  The more liturgically minded among us might go for "The Gifts of God for the People of God".

Introduction.  We begin this week with the account from the Book of Exodus of the  miraculous feeding in the wilderness of the "whole congregation of the Israelites", but may still be surprised to be reminded that the menu on this occasion included meat (quail) as well as bread (manna).  In our second lesson the concept of the "entire congregation of Israelites" has been replaced by the image of the Body of Christ, and the idea of the divine gifts of food and drink has been broadened to include vocational gifts.  Finally, we continue our reading from chapter 6 of John's Gospel as the image of Christ as the Bread of Life moves to the centre of the narrative.

Background.  I have been even more than usually obsessed with food this week.  It began last Sunday.  After church (the gospel passage, you will recall, featuring the Feeding of the Five Thousand), a few of us felt the need for something a little more substantial than a crust of bread and a mouthful of sardine, so we headed off to a local cafe, where I soon found myself confronted by a VCT – a Veritable Cabinet of Temptation.  Conscious of the need to avoid leading others into temptation, I will withhold a full list of the contents of this VCT, but one example is forever imprinted on my mind's eye.  It was an enormous hazelnut and caramel slice, clearly intended for me because it was placed on a shelf at exactly my eye-level.  I could feel an enormous weakness flowing into my will, and before I could utter a desperate prayer for help, it came anyway.  Into my fevered mind came the calming image of Professor Jim Mann gently looking at me, and very slowly shaking his head!

I had a bagel instead, and even tried to look only slightly censorious when the man who had preached at the service joined us, bearing with him a large portion of lemon meringue pie and a very pleased look on his face.  Mustn't grumble, as Moses had more than one occasion to say to the entire congregation of Israelites.

I was challenged in a much more serious and moving way on Tuesday evening when I braced myself to watch a documentary called "Little Criminals", about the way in which our society dealt with young boys "at risk" by placing them in various State-run institutions, including the Epuni Boys' Home.  The documentary featured five men who had been through some awful experiences in their childhood in these institutions, and it made for tough viewing.  But one, almost throw-away line from one of these men has stuck with me.  He was recounting how he was always on the look-out for food to steal, and mentioned "lollies, and stuff like that".  Then he added, "Anything, really.  When you're really hungry you'll even steal food you don't like."  He was talking about his childhood, when he was about 8-years-old – and supposedly under the care and protection of the State.

Then this morning (Thursday) as I sat down to write these Notes I learned of a new "supermarket war", this time sparked by a woman with a rather wonderful name of Wilma Waterlander.  She is the lead author of a report on a study that has found that over 80% of packaged food sold in supermarkets is "ultra-processed" – meaning that the original ingredients are no longer recognisable – and are of little nutritional value.  In the study over 19,000 products from 4 different supermarkets in Auckland in 2011 and 2013 were tested against the Food Standards Australia New Zealand's Nutrient Profiling Scoring Criterion (sic), which sounds suitably authoritative if rather bureaucratic.  Needless to say, this report has drawn a blast from Katherine Rich, chief executive of the Food and Grocery Council, backed up by a spokesperson for Countdown.

Ms Rich's counterattack showed the years she spent in Parliament were not wasted.  First she said she did not accept the analysis, dismissing the accuracy of the Nutrient Profiling index.  Then, to use an appropriate cliché, she compared apples with oranges.  Instead of addressing the claim made in respect of "19,000 packaged products" she referred to the total range of 25,000 products apparently available in the average supermarket, presumably including fresh produce and other non-packaged products.

The Countdown spokesman followed the same approach.  He pointed out that the first "department" that customers find on entering a Countdown supermarket is dedicated to fresh produce.  More interesting was the list of the top ten items sold in Countdown supermarkets in the last 12 months: according to this man, they were bananas, tomatoes, broccoli, white bread, carrots, milk 2l, avocado, cucumber, onions and grapes.  Really?  Customers bought more broccoli, and more avocado, than margarine, meat, or marmalade?  Notice I haven't mentioned liquor, and nor did he.

Katherine Rich came up with the best line, of course.   It's all about choice.  People come into supermarkets because they want to choose between 25,000 products.  "They don't want to be limited to mung beans and rye wafers!"  I have no idea what the nutritional value of those foodstuffs is, and I suspect that Ms Rich doesn't either.  That's not the point of her argument.  What she has done is spoken for the modern view that food is no longer about nutrition and well-being – it is about enjoyment, convenience, and a refusal to accept that built into our bodies are certain settings or limitations that we exceed at our peril.  Consumer choice is certainly important, but does that exclude any responsibility on the manufacturers of packaged food to ensure that their products are not harmful to human health?  I can see Professor Jim Mann nodding at me this time.

Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15:  The initial excitement of the escape from Egypt has well and truly warn off.  They are now about 6 weeks into the wilderness experience.  What probably started as a few muted asides from individual malcontents (every congregation has one or two) has now spread throughout the "whole congregation of Israelites" (notice how often that term is used in this chapter).  They now turn on Moses and Aaron (so much safer than blaming the Lord their God), lamenting the loss of the good old days when they sat by the fleshpots of Egypt eating their fill of bread.  The meaning of the word "fleshpots" may have changed somewhat over the centuries, but human nature certainly hasn't.  We are still as adept in looking back to a golden age that never actually existed, when our church was packed to the gunnels and we had six people teaching Sunday School every Sunday!  Far from hitting back, the Lord allows his ungrateful (stiff-necked) people to see his glory, and then promises to supply them with meat and bread.  Little is made of the quail bonanza, the focus from the beginning of this tradition being on the provision of manna, bread, from heaven.  It came, of course, with a series of instructions, designed to ensure that everyone received enough according to their needs, but no one could accumulate more than he or she required.  It is worth reading the rest of the chapter to see just how much attention is given to this strange substance.

Taking It Personally.

·        Can you recall an occasion when you were short of food?  What did that feel like?

·        Recall an experience of eating "in the wild" – on a tramp, or at a picnic, or something.  What is different about such an experience, compared with eating a "routine" meal at home?

·        Is it your practice to give thanks to God before each meal?

·        Is healthy eating for you simply about your physical health, or do you agree it has a spiritual importance as well?  In what way(s)?

 

Ephesians 4:1-16.  St Paul now turns his attention to the whole idea of vocation.  We are used to this word in a limited context.  Until fairly recently we understood it to mean a calling into the ordained ministry or a religious order.  A prayer for vocations would still be understood in that way, I think.  But St Paul recognises the first and greatest Christian vocation is the one we all share, the calling to follow Christ.  In verse 1 he exhorts us to "lead a life worthy of the calling" to which we have been called.  An essential part of this teaching is his whole image of the Body of Christ.  We are called together with all others who have the same calling to form one body.  In verse 8 he misquotes Psalm 68:18, and uses it to introduce the idea of God giving us, within the one Body, different vocations, not for our own individual benefit, but for the good of the whole Body.  We must continue to grow spiritually, as individuals and as the Body, to attain maturity in Christ.  And we must stay on song: we must not allow ourselves to be blown around by variant teaching, or outright deceit.  Speaking the truth is at the heart of the spiritual journey we are all on.

 

Taking It Personally.

 

·        Are you leading a life worthy of your calling?

·        In your local faith community, do you make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace?

·        Reflect on the word "vocation".  What is your principal vocation?

·        Are you growing spiritually on your journey of faith?  In what way(s) has your local community of faith helped you in that process?

·        Do you accept any responsibility for the spiritual growth of others?

 

John 6:24-35.  This week's passage begins with the mysterious absence of Jesus.  After the feeding of the multitude, the crowd had seen Jesus' disciples get back in their boat and go back across the lake, but Jesus had not been with them.  Therefore they assumed that he must still be somewhere on their side of the Lake, but he was not.  When they finally caught up with him in Capernaum they were understandably intrigued.  What a golden opportunity to impress!  Jesus could have told them how he had crossed the lake – he walked across it!  Of course, he didn't say that: instead he questioned their reason for wanting to find him.  They were on the hunt for another free lunch!  This gives him the opportunity to raise the level of the discourse from the mundane to the spiritual, as so often happens in this Gospel.  They seem to make some progress towards understanding him, for they ask him for guidance as to what they must do to "perform the work of God". Jesus tells them that they must believe in him (the one whom God has sent).  They ask for a sign, giving the example of the provision of manna from heaven in the wilderness.  Jesus identifies himself as the Bread of Heaven, for he too has come down from heaven sent by the Father as a gift to bring them life.

 

Taking It Personally.

 

·        Notice that the inquirers here are genuine in their questions.  They are not "opponents" trying to trap or trick Jesus into saying or doing the wrong thing.  What questions would you like to put to Jesus at this stage of the narrative?

·        Meditate on verse 35.  Perhaps learn it by heart.  Recite it to yourself whenever you are eating bread.  Give thanks frequently.

·        Reflect on the Communion wafer.  What is it made of?  Does it have a noticeable taste?  What nutritional value do you think it has?

·        Return to verse 35.  What spiritual value does the wafer have for you? 

·        Would you favour using homemade bread (rather than wafers) for Communion.  Why or why not?  What about once a year on a specially designated Bread from Heaven Day?