Exploring: The Church, Theology and Food

Posts tagged ‘food’

Resignation

I resigned from one of my jobs today. The icing on the cake that prompted the letter came when a clergy colleague sent me a piece on spiritual exhaustion. Part of the reading contained an excerpt from Psalm 31-9-16, You are indeed my rock and my fortress; for your name’s sake lead me and guide me.

I am reminded this week that Jesus was at a place of spiritual exhaustion. He needed to pray, to have time in solitude as well as having time to eat with those he loved. How hard it must have been to share that last meal, to give instruction and let both his male and female disciples know that the road to spreading the news was not going to be an easy.

Resignations are always fraught with mixed emotions. One day I just woke up exhausted. I could do no more. The broader issues and problems of the organization and administration had worn me down. I needed to stop now and sit at Jesus’ table and be feed. My friend Dave says “you may not be the person who is able to help someone, but you may have planted a seed that makes the person who comes after you water the seed to grow.”

God’s power reaches us when we need a shoulder to lean on, a hand to hold, and a meal to share.

20130326-205631.jpg

Advertisement

Citrus Tomato Marmalade

It seemed like a really good idea at the time to buy around 10 pounds of “second tomatoes”. They are still good but for some reason since they are not without blemish don’t get sold for the regular price. Each year I can and each year I forget that it is a process. Even the simplest of recipes take time. I cannot rush the water to boil in the canning pot. I cannot ask the marmalade to thicken before it wants to. We all have our blemishes. We all want things to happen, when we want them to happen. But, in God’s world we are not seconds.

20120818-161307.jpg

Veggies from City Sproats

Let me quote Thomas Keller: “When you acknowledge, as you must, that there is no such thing as perfect food, only the idea of it, then the real purpose of striving toward perfection becomes clear: to make people happy, that is what cooking is all about.”