Bless Our Food

I wonder how many people say grace before they eat. When I think about "saying grace" I turn into an 11 year old again and feel like getting everyone to bow their head and just yell out "GRACE" and start chowing down like in Hook.

Then I think of Ben Stiller praying lyrics from Jesus Christ Superstar at the dinner table in Meet the Parents. I guess it's sad that these are the first things that come to mind when I think of saying grace. I'm such a child of the media.

But seriously, praying before our meal, saying grace, blessing the food... what's it all about?

I would say there are two things that are common to nearly every saying of "grace." The first is the thanking of God for provision, and the second is asking God to bless the food.

I certainly have no issue whatsoever with thanking God for provision. I think that is key to life, and that at a meal is the perfect time to remind yourself of God's provision. But asking God to bless the food is something that is curious to me. Take a moment and think about what it means for God to bless your food.

Does asking God's blessing on it make it more healthy for you? Does it kill germs, viruses, etc. on the food? Does it help digestion? Is it a new miracle weight loss scheme (Prayed Before Weighed)? Does it somehow make you more holy for eating prayed over food? Is this a ceremonial cleansing of the food like in the Old Testament? Bless this food...

Does calling down a blessing make something blessed? For something to be blessed is for God to be interwoven with it. The word blessed in hebrew (barak) means to get down and kneel. For God to bless us, Creation, the things we partake of, the good; is for God to come down to be with what is going on and show his favor. Blessing doesn't happen because we ask of it. Things that are worthy of God coming down to join are inherently blessed. Just like when Jesus gives an anthem of what blessing can look like in the beatitudes. These are things that God says are worthy of His attention, they are things he wants to be connected with, they are blessed.

The blessing of a meal can mean a lot of things, but it also begs a lot of questions.

I think you can break the blessing into three categories: God, others, creation. And all of these should be lumped under the heading of respect.

God: As I said, praying a prayer of thanks is one of the most common and universal aspects of the mealtime prayer. We are able to lay ourselves before our maker and give thanks; however, thanks cannot be given throughout our day without our acknowledgment of God's hand consistently being in our lives. Prayer is a time where we regroup. We realize that we have been preoccupied and not fully aware of God throughout our day. After acknowledging this we slow down and refocus and allow ourselves to be awed at the realization that God at that moment is kneeling with our humility before Him. Then we can give thanks and pursue a life of continual thanks.

Others: It is sad for me to think of how many meals I have eaten alone. It's even sadder to think that I sometimes eat meals alone by choice instead of joining others. Just as this is a time to regroup in thanks and appreciation to God and awareness of his presence, it's also a time to look at what matters in life. It's time to join with friends, enemies, or the other to bond; to share over a meal. It's a time of openness with nothing else pressing on us to get done, it is a sacred time. It's a time to show love and caring for others where there is no work to be done, so it's sincere. You can enter into another's life for that time and then carry that conversation with you for the rest of the day, keeping in your heart the joys and the woes of another. It's connectedness, and I believe God called that good and he would kneel with us in that.

Creation: A meal is unique in that we ingest food. We ingest creation, and it sustains us. We rely upon what God has created and given us authority over. We were made to be the Earth's caretakers, but we often get preoccupied with being society's caretakers. Sitting down to take creation, hold it in our hands and then join it to ourselves is a heavy illustration of how we need to be connected with the Earth. You take that plant full of nutrients from the ground; you take that meat that was once an animal with life who fed on plants, drank water from a stream, grew healthy in the warmth of the sun, and enjoyed the landscape God provided for it. You connect with these things if you allow yourself, and you realize something greater; something that ties together complexity, harmony, and love. And man coming in contact with his calling at every meal is something that I believe would bring God to recline at the table with him.

As I said there are questions that come and must be asked through the eyes of blessing.

Am I living blessing in this meal? Is anything about this meal keeping God away from it?

Am I not trusting God? Have I been too busy to revere his majesty during my day? Have I thought the world was all about me at times, and not kept God at the center of all? Do I show thanks for what I have by sharing it with others, so that they may have some of God's provision also? Am I able to accept from others and see it as from God? Am I aware that He is here, and that this ground is holy ground?

Am I ok with everyone around me? Am I interested in what they have to say or am I just waiting for my next chance to talk? Am I annoyed with them? Do I despise them? Is there anyone I really hope would not sit with me at the meal? Is there anyone who if they sat next to me, I would be conflicted by knowing I have not done my best to respect them. If the 11 year old sweat shop worker for the manufacturer where I get most of my clothes sat by me for lunch, what would I say? Do I have wrongs to right with people I know or don't know? Do I even care about these wrongs? What steps can I take to make this a blessed meal for all to join with me and not just some. What steps can I take to allow God ,Himself, to join this meal with me?

Am I aware of where my food came from? Do I understand the process that got it here? Have I ever been connected with the soil? Have I ever marveled at a seed and respected it's ambition to spring forth abundant life from nearly nothing? Do I care about the quality of the plants? Do I care about artificial substances that weaken the plants and steal their honor to make my life more practical and easy? Do I appreciate vegetation the way I should by making sure species do not go extinct? Am I aiding in the pollution that is poisoning creation? Do I know where my eggs came from? Do I know the practices and treatment of the birds from which the eggs come? Is it respectful to the animal or is it the equivalent of a Nazi concentration camp for animals? How are the animals I ingest cared for? Are they really cared for, or are they given meaningless lives where they will not experience creation, only a man made cage, and then be slaughtered at the earliest age possible? Am I contributing to this by my food choices? Is God here with me in these decision? Is he here with me in my selfish, apathetic ignorance to creation?

These are things I am starting to realize I need to ask. Blessing isn't whatever I want it to be or whatever is easiest for me... it's what is right. Justice and righteousness are the same word in Hebrew. The word conveys a right way of living that moves out and makes the world right. Blessing isn't just contingent on me being a nice person and acknowledging that God is good for giving me this food, its judgment is that I must make sure everything surrounding this meal is as right and sacred as possible. The more sacred and righteous it is the more apt God is to kneel with me at the meal and bless what the meal is and what it's doing in me and in the world.

Bless this meal.

Amen.