Last month’s contribution, namely offering the suggestion that we forego Lenten soup suppers for Bible study, produced some interesting comments and a few interesting discussions. While some were supportive of the idea, others took offense. Frankly, I was surprised that anyone voiced any support for the idea at all.
The phrase “in the soup” is sometimes used by pilots to describe flying in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). This does not pertain to taking a trumpet or clarinet into an airplane to toot at the passing clouds. Rather, it refers to flying through weather conditions where one does not have outside visual references, i.e. one flies by navigational instruments and radio aids in the cockpit, as well as help from air traffic control, in order to fly through fog, mist, clouds, and so forth. Commercial airliners routinely fly on instrument flight plans regardless of the weather conditions. In short, when one is “in the soup” one needs additional and outside aids to arrive at one’s destination safely. The food service, often curtailed or discontinued by the airlines, has nothing to do with arriving at one’s destination in a safe or timely manner.
Apart from my suggestion of substituting Bible study for soup suppers, the Bible itself is full of ideas and comments from God also challenging our assumptions, perceptions, and decisions, not to mention our “thoughts, words, and deeds,” as we often confess. In addition to verses like, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4 ESV), one also finds passages as follows, “And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, ‘Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger’” (Exod. 16:2-3).
To this, Jesus might reply, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matt 5:6). To those whom Jesus did feed, he said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal” (John 6:26-27).
Fortunately, or not, human beings are not made of tummies alone. We have hearts, minds, and souls with which we are commanded to love God with all our strength. That means that we have much more to loose than a few calories once a week for the six weeks of Lent. Jesus says, “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 10:32-33). Likewise, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matt. 16:24). Alas, however, “After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me. … It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.’ So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after Judas had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him” (John 13:21, 26-27).
A pilot in the soup has no outside visual references. Nearly 90% of the time, when accidently flying from visual meteorological conditions (VMC) into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) untrained pilots find the ground at a fatal velocity. A trained instrument-rated pilot, however, is guided through the soup not by somatic sensations but by reading the instruments and by listening to air traffic controllers. Likewise, as St. Paul reminds, Christians “walk by faith, not by sight” (II Cor. 5:7), and as Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).
So, what do we make of soup suppers? Scripture says, “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food,” and God will destroy both one and the other” (I Cor. 6:13) and also, “‘All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.’ And this word is the good news that was preached to you” (I Pet. 1:24-25). It is not clear how many people are for or against the notion of replacing soup suppers with Bible study. What is clear, however, is that restaurants are in business to serve food, and churches are in business to serve the good news, meaning both to serve it as the word of God and to serve it as the word of God to others.
Whether in the cockpit or in church, being “in the soup” is neither here nor there for those listening to the guidance communicated by navigational instruments, necessary charts, and air traffic controllers, or scripture and God respectively. Listening to that voice of guidance in both instances is a matter of life and death.
How often each day do we procure, prepare, and partake of food? In comparison, how often each day do we partake of the word of God? As the old saying goes, “One is what one eats” (Man ist, was man isst). So, to whom shall we listen – the grumbling of our tummies, the grumbling of the congregation, or the gift of the one who says, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4 ESV)? More pointedly and more graciously, which of these offers himself through the cross and resurrection to you in the supper at his table?
July 13th, 2014 on 10:17 pm
Giving up soup for Lent, eh? Now there’s an idea.
This makes me think about Psalm 109: “My knees give way from fasting; my body is thin and gaunt.” I suppose if we want to do it right, that is some true inspiration, eh? None of this sissy stuff regarding noodles and broth!
God spoke through the Prophet Isaiah (Chapter 58) and tells us “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists.” I hope we would never come to such a thing, but it is nevertheless important to understand the meaning of our fasting so as to prevent it!
Further in Isaiah 58, God says through the prophet, “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”
Yes, fasting demands a lot from us; it also shows us who we truly are. Through Zechariah (Chapter 7), God asked, “was it really for me that you fasted?” Hopefully we do not fast for ourselves.
Interestingly, the 40 days of Jesus’ tempting in the desert seems similar to the 40 years the Jews spent in exile, facing temptation with each passing day. (The Jews were provided with manna and the occasional quail, however. Also, the Jews failed in temptation where Jesus did not.) Yes, God provided in all cases. This is the true blessing of fasting for the Lord and not for ourselves – He will always provide what we need. “These forty years the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.” (Deuteronomy 2)
In light of the proper meaning of fasting and the proper intention for doing so, Jesus also told us “do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.” (Luke 12)
Our Lord surely did say that we shall not “live on bread alone.” (This in fact is a commandment.) We shall live on bread, however, AS WELL AS “every word that comes from the mouth of God.” After all, without our daily bread (provided by the Lord Himself in every case), we will begin to notice our knees giving out and our complexions becoming thin and gaunt. That is, while our focus is on our Lord, there will be side effects in the physical realm. Jesus said not to worry about these.
In all, the Jews adhere to Leviticus 23 in their celebration of Sukkot, which is to commemorate their 40 years in the wilderness. Special food and customs take place during this time. In Christianity (this even includes Roman Catholicism), we honor Christ’s 40 days in the desert, denying Himself in fasting and rejecting the temptations of Satan. We begin with Ash Wednesday (a day of fasting), followed by the Lenten period (fasting for 40 days), then into Good Friday (a truly solemn day), and finally out from Easter (the best day of the year).
So the questions to ask ourselves are: do these commemorations bring us to quarreling and strife? Do these commemorations set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Do we truly fast for God and not ourselves? Do we recognize these as provisions from God? Are we worrying about what we will eat? Are we trying to live on soup alone?
Truly, the one question is, are we living on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord? (Deut. 8)
If so, then we may recognize that we are truly fasting for the Lord when our knees give out, when we free the oppressed, and/or when we live not on soup alone. If the question is, “Shall we give up soup for Lent?” the same answer applies: so long as you live by every word that comes from the Lord. It seems, then, that giving up soup for our commemoration of Christ’s trial(s) is not necessarily warranted, unless we have truly lost our way and no longer serve God. Shy of that, giving up meat for 40 days or altering your diet for six Wednesdays shouldn’t be what leads you from the Lord. Of course, always be wary. Also, know when you are in fact eating soup to commemorate and cherish all gifts from the Lord, including the blessed story from Matthew 4.
My advice is this: do not think that you can live by soup alone. You can live by every word of the Lord (and also eat soup). It is good to understand how the plane takes off and lands, even while you are a passenger behind the Pilot eating your humble soup. If the ride gets turbulent, then put the soup away and pray for a straightened course – the soup will not help you there. But after the turbulence, it is okay to eat in commemoration and thanks to the Pilot who allowed you to finish off yet one more bowl of soup. (Cherish each bowl of soup as a gift from God, but not ever try to replace God with the bowl of soup.)