A Volley from the Canon: 5 The Great Banquet

The Great Banquet

In this instance, I don’t mean the Heavenly Banquet. I mean the one we put on at church every time there is a gathering of any kind. We have, I think, three motivations. First, the pragmatic one: “feed them, and they will come.” We believe, and have some evidence to support, that people will attend if they know they will be fed, with little or no cost or effort of their own. Second, the theological one: what we serve at church is somehow emblematic of the heavenly food of the Kingdom. Therefore, it should be our best, our “party” food, normally reserved for special occasions, but then, any gathering in God’s house is a special occasion. Third, there is the sinful one: Perhaps we like to show off a little. And then, perhaps we like to indulge a little in that perennial favorite among the Deadly Seven, Gluttony.

I call your attention to the word Deadly.

It is my contention that we are killing ourselves with our church dinners, receptions, and refreshments. Ironically, the better one’s attendance at church events, the worse it is for one’s physical health. And whose attendance is pushing 100%? The clergy, that’s who. We are killing off the clergy, and the most active lay people in our congregations, by constantly serving them foods our doctors have forbidden us ever to consume ourselves.

What foods, you ask? Throw a hot cross bun at the serving table, I respond, and see what you hit. Doughnuts will kill nearly anybody. But constant cookies (and we know how to bake some irresistible ones), “celebratory” cakes (we can celebrate anything), a parade of brownies, and dinners with a mayonnaise theme all qualify.

In all seriousness, we ought to consider:

· The epidemic of diabetes is frightening, and growing.
· We are the fattest state in the union.
· Hypertension and related disorders are prevalent.
· We are an older and aging church population.
· Our children and grandchildren learn from what they see us doing.
· Aren’t health care costs high enough already?

To return to the three motivations cited above: First, I believe they will come if we serve attractive, fresh, naturally tasty and healthy food, too. Second, theologically speaking, shouldn’t we be all about health and wholeness rather than decadence and indulgence? Thirdly, isn’t facing and resisting sin what we are into? We can still compete over who has the prettiest and most interesting dish of healthy fare. I don’t know if one can overeat salad greens, but we could try.

Yes, I know there is nothing we can do about Aunt Madge and her potluck penchant for heart-stopping covered dishes. Perhaps just a spoonful would satisfy both her and our urge to splurge. But wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had the choice of mounding up the rest of our plate with colorful, fresh vegetables (please, not just salad from a bag), and delectable fruits, served with non-lethal dressings or sauces?

Now, that’s heaven.