Today’s scriptures have me thinking about food and drink, and with good reason.  In Proverbs, we see Wisdom offering to everyone: Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed . . . [and] advance in the way of understanding.  In the Gospel reading, Jesus proclaims: Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.  Paul warns the Ephesians: Do not get drunk on wine.  Meanwhile, the psalmist invites us:  Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

You can learn a great deal about a person or a culture by looking at food, specifically what is eaten, how it is prepared or preserved, and how people gather to consume it.  Yet even if the cuisines differ, the role of food is similar in cultures all around the world.  It is what we share with others in bad times and good times.  We bring food to families struggling with the severe illness or loss of a loved one; and humanitarian organizations show up in devastated areas to serve meals to people hurting from man-made and natural disasters.  Food is central when friends and family celebrate birthdays, weddings, and holidays.  Sometimes we enjoy a good meal, or perhaps just a cup of coffee, in acts of fellowship with old friends or with people we are getting to know.  Gathering around the table can foster reconciliation, if only because you are less likely to say something stupid or offensive if your mouth is full of good food.

The 19th-century food writer Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin once stated, “Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are.”  As Christians, we have been given some amazing food and drink in the form of Wisdom, which comes from and brings us closer to God; and in the form of the Christ, God incarnate who brought (and still brings) love, mercy, forgiveness and healing.  Our food culture, so to speak, should be to partake of and share this wisdom, love, mercy, forgiveness and healing.  Like Jesus, who ate with the “wrong” people (i.e., sinners and tax collectors) as well as the “right” ones (e.g., the Pharisee in Luke 7), we should share what God has given us without discriminating.  In some instances, it is through our loving, caring, Spirit-led actions that others can taste and see that the Lord is good.