|
Food that defies
SERMON - 10.15am, Emmanuel Church, Pokfulam, Hong Kong
Sunday 14th August 2005
Revd. Matthew Vernon
Matt 15.10-28.
My brother is thinking about becoming vegetarian.
He's not against killing animals,
• but he's increasingly disturbed by modern factory farming and our treatment of livestock.
However, he, like me, can't resist a delicious steak
• or yummy roast chicken
• when it's on the plate before us.
Most of the people I know who are vegetarian are of different faiths.
The interfaith group I'm part of includes people from Indian traditions and Buddhist traditions.
• They are vegetarian.
Imam Arshad from the Kowloon Mosque
• and Rabbi Michael from the United Jewish Congregation
• are also vegetarian when they eat out.
Their beliefs require that meat be prepared in a certain way:
• halal and kosher.
When they eat out they don't know that.
I have great respect for these vegetarian friends;
• its part of their holiness.
They don't keep these rules for the sake of it,
• but as part of their living faith.
In this morning's Gospel, Jesus very clearly states, according to Matthew,
• that its what comes out of our mouths, not what goes in, that defiles us.
He says graphically, "whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach and goes out into the sewer?
• But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and that is what defiles."
In Matthew's Gospel this teaching is put in direct contrast to the Pharisees' hypocritical teaching.
Jesus word's exposes the pettiness of their many religious laws.
He criticizes the Pharisees once again for their religiosity.
Jesus wanted to liberate people from their fear of breaking God's rules.
It's a fear that people are always prone to.
We so easily think that God want us to live in fear,
• fear of going wrong and fear of God,
• when in fact God wants us to live in joy and freedom.
We think God wants us to walk about with our heads down because of our failures,
• but God wants us to trust like children in God's forgiveness
• and the dependability of God's love.
What would Jesus teach today about our eating habits?
I wonder whether in very different circumstances to 2000 years ago
• Jesus might say that food we eat can defile us.
As Christians, we're not bound by rules about what we should eat,
• but perhaps we should be.
We who live in a land of plenty:
• innumerable restaurants;
• overflowing buffets;
• omnipresent Starbucks - and Pacific Coffee.
Some days the newspaper carries a story about the famine in Niger
• and a few pages later a story about the levels of obesity in the Western world.
Jesus does have something to say about that.
• About our world where so many live without enough food,
• whilst many others have too much.
This is a sensitive subject
• and I'm not trying to make anyone feel uncomfortable about their body shape.
We're surrounded by enough images of super slim people that do that.
Eating more than we need affects people of all shapes and sizes.
I was at an evening meeting this week.
One member of the group brought sausages rolls from Starbucks.
I had no hesitation in taking one;
• and it was yummy.
Someone else though showed admirable restraint –
• the kind of self-discipline I just don't have.
There were a number of "umms" around the table,
• but still he resisted.
There's a wonderful Jewish story related to all this.
A man used to go to his office every day in his expensive car.
Every day he made important decisions and signed big contracts.
Often, the important man would enjoy business lunches with his clients.
Whilst they ate their delicious food he would try to distract the attention of his influential guests.
He didn't want them to see the unsavoury spectacle of the beggars on the streets.
One evening, after a hard day making money, he packed his briefcase to go home.
Supper would be waiting for him at home and he was looking forward to another fine meal.
As he was locking his desk for the night,
• he saw a stale sandwich lying abandoned at the back of the draw.
Without much thought the put it in his pocket.
• Better than leaving it to go mouldy and mess up his desk.
On the way to his car he saw a street beggar no the steps, huddled in a blanket.
"Here, my friend" he said,
• "Have a sandwich for supper."
And he gave the beggar the stale sandwich.
He then jumped into his big car and drove home
• to the big supper that was waiting for him.
That night, the man had a dream.
He was away on a business trip.
After the day's meeting,
• he was taken with his fellow directors to the city's most luxurious restaurant.
They had a fabulous meal:
• pate; salmon; venison; lamb; cheese.
The dishes being brought to the table brought gasps of delight from the company.
Then the man's own order appeared.
The waitress put in front of him one small plate with a stale sandwich on it.
"What kind of service is this?" The man demanded.
• "This is not what I ordered. I thought this was the best restaurant in the city!"
"Oh sir," the waitress said, "you've been misinformed.
• "This isn't a restaurant at all.
• "This is heaven.
• "We are only able to serve you what you have sent on ahead while you were alive.
• "I'm very sorry, sir, but when we looked under your name, the best we could find to serve to you was this little sandwich."
|
