Opinion: Passion food

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Commentary by Rev. Michael VandenBerg

Our world seems to want to place everyone and everything in broad categories. I was reminded of this over the weekend as I listened to another pastor describe Jesus’ selection of disciples (students) as “looking for a few good men.” We want to put life into sound bytes and be finished with it when we have named it. It is part of our big gulp culture; one heaping portion, and then I am done. My son is a chef and often complains about how patrons simply want bigger portions rather than delicately created dishes that tantalize the pallet and excite the taste buds with exquisite mixtures of flavors that can each be distinguished from one another but blend in an entirely new way.

God brings his creation together in much the same way a chef does his dishes. He takes disparate people together and brings out their very best flavors while at the same time creating an entirely new creation fit for a king.

We, on the other hand, seem to want to put all peoples together more in a blender fashion, mashing them together into some kind of unrecognizable and unpalatable creation. When we strive for mere tolerance instead of genuine love, we have become blender cooks. When we work toward simply striving for agreement in the lowest common denominator, we have become blender cooks. When we look for everyone to be alike, look alike, sound alike, act alike and think alike, we have become blender cooks.

Jesus said the reason he came was to bring us a better, more enriching life in abundance. He came to bring us a life that accentuates the best that is in each of us and bring us together in an even more creative manner. God designed the richness and flavor of all peoples, so when we are brought together, we create and wonderful, rich, appealing and flavorful dish of hope. He desires that we bring out the best in one another, not bring one another down to the lowest commonality and make us a people that are all identical in appearance and taste.

I see in Jesus’ last meal with his disciples that he was not giving them sound-byte living, but instructional care. He was delicately mixing the fine flavors of each of His disciples into a new creation. He was giving them an exquisite design that would bring out the best, help each reach their highest potential, and then share it with the others.

As Jesus gathered his disciples around the table for their last meal he gave them simple elements of bread and wine and then mixed in his love and compassion as he told them to eat this meal and then remember him and the fine life that he was bringing them.

As I look back on my life there are meals that standout for me, sometimes because of the richness of the food, but often because of the passion of the food that the one who prepared it or the one I was sharing it with brought to the table. Each time I smell the smells, taste the flavors, enjoy the textures and spice, I relive those moments, and I remember. This is the way food was meant to be enjoyed and this is the way that life is meant to be lived – with passion.

“And Jesus said to them, each time you eat of this bread and drink this wine, remember me.”


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Opinion: Passion food

0

Commentary by Rev. Michael VandenBerg

Our world seems to want to place everyone and everything in broad categories. I was reminded of this over the weekend as I listened to another pastor describe Jesus’ selection of disciples (students) as “looking for a few good men.” We want to put life into sound bytes and be finished with it when we have named it. It is part of our big gulp culture; one heaping portion, and then I am done. My son is a chef and often complains about how patrons simply want bigger portions rather than delicately created dishes that tantalize the pallet and excite the taste buds with exquisite mixtures of flavors that can each be distinguished from one another but blend in an entirely new way.

God brings his creation together in much the same way a chef does his dishes. He takes disparate people together and brings out their very best flavors while at the same time creating an entirely new creation fit for a king.

We, on the other hand, seem to want to put all peoples together more in a blender fashion, mashing them together into some kind of unrecognizable and unpalatable creation. When we strive for mere tolerance instead of genuine love, we have become blender cooks. When we work toward simply striving for agreement in the lowest common denominator, we have become blender cooks. When we look for everyone to be alike, look alike, sound alike, act alike and think alike, we have become blender cooks.

Jesus said the reason he came was to bring us a better, more enriching life in abundance. He came to bring us a life that accentuates the best that is in each of us and bring us together in an even more creative manner. God designed the richness and flavor of all peoples, so when we are brought together, we create and wonderful, rich, appealing and flavorful dish of hope. He desires that we bring out the best in one another, not bring one another down to the lowest commonality and make us a people that are all identical in appearance and taste.

I see in Jesus’ last meal with his disciples that he was not giving them sound-byte living, but instructional care. He was delicately mixing the fine flavors of each of His disciples into a new creation. He was giving them an exquisite design that would bring out the best, help each reach their highest potential, and then share it with the others.

As Jesus gathered his disciples around the table for their last meal he gave them simple elements of bread and wine and then mixed in his love and compassion as he told them to eat this meal and then remember him and the fine life that he was bringing them.

As I look back on my life there are meals that standout for me, sometimes because of the richness of the food, but often because of the passion of the food that the one who prepared it or the one I was sharing it with brought to the table. Each time I smell the smells, taste the flavors, enjoy the textures and spice, I relive those moments, and I remember. This is the way food was meant to be enjoyed and this is the way that life is meant to be lived – with passion.

“And Jesus said to them, each time you eat of this bread and drink this wine, remember me.”


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Share.

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By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: . You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact