Now don’t run off. This really is not about dieting and health food. It is about the Lord’s Prayer.
You know the saying. We are what we eat. Eat junk food and your body will begin to look and act like junk. We start to get fat, sag, and wear out from all the sugar, trans-fats, and cholesterol inducing tasty food we eat. I know a family who eats a lot of fast food, and washes things down with sodas and surgery drinks. They aren’t big on fresh veggies. Know what? They visit the Dr. a lot, because of colds, strep throat, ear infections, and other various aches and pains. And while it does not hold true 100% of the time, people who eat more healthily, tend to be healthier.
So I was thinking about the Lord’s Prayer, and was struck with the “you become what you eat” aspect of it. I know you might be wondering “Where does it say that in the Lord’s prayer?” And maybe it is just my strange brain, but let me share what I was thinking.
Right after the opening, where Jesus indicates the Father is not really from around these parts, he speaks about the coming of the God’s kingdom and of God’s will being done here on earth. Like a movie with sub-titles, it’s hard for me to miss the implied meaning. “Thy kingdom come. subtitles: in my life and sphere of influence. Thy will be done…subtitles: in all that I do, say, and think on earth as it is in heaven.” Wow! It was easier when it was just a nice religious prayer, before I noticed the sub-titles. I liked it better without all the expectations. I do want to do God’s will, and I pray for God’s kingdom to be established in how I live my life and relate to everyone. I really do want to express God’s will on earth just like the saints and angels do it “in heaven” as Jesus says. But I have a long way to go.
Then just a few sentences later Jesus tells us to ask for forgiveness like we forgive others. I always gulp when I get to that part. “Forgive us our trespasses even as we forgive those who trespass against us.” I try, I really do, but I just can’t do it! God is so generous with me and so freely extends forgiveness and healing to my many sins, but it beyond my ability to be that generous to those who sin against me every time. You may as well ask my out of shape body to run a marathon or to bench press 300 pounds. Ain’t gonna happen!
Of course none of us will ever be fully like God! None of us will ever perfectly embody the Kingdom or will of the Father while we are here on this earth. But that is the goal of following Christ. We are called to grow into God’s likeness; we are to look and act like God on this earth. The early writers in the church called this theosis or becoming Godlike. Everyone falls short. But perhaps it is related to our diet? Maybe we are not eating the food we need to become as healthy as possible. Sometimes when I look at the Christian community in North America it seems like we specialize in eating fast food, both literally and spiritually. Could that be the problem?
So let’s look at the -you are what you eat- part of this prayer. Right in the middle of kingdom coming, will being done and forgiving like God forgives – frankly the call to live an other worldly life here on earth, Jesus teaches us to pray the following. “Give us this day our daily bread.” Right away our minds go to natural food. To be sure we need that. But this phrase could also be translated as “give us the food of the coming day” which carries another meaning altogether. We are asking to be fed with food from that great day! Food from another realm…the eternal realm, the spiritual world, the kingdom from whece our Father hails; The Eucharist! To be sure this is only one aspect to a healthy spiritual diet, but if this is what Jesus is saying…
Most Protestants will see this as a stretch. I know so did I earlier in my life. But for 2000 years the Church has taught that the Eucharist is much more than just bread and wine. It is the very body and blood of our Lord. It is eternal bread from heaven (John 6). It is food from that other realm, food imbued with life from a place where our life-source originates (the kingdom of the Father). I grew up receiving the emblems, as they were called, once or twice a year. These emblems were not considered essential to our spiritual bodies for strength, development, or growth in to become like God. They were simply nice ways for us to remember that Jesus died for us.
But what if becoming like God, theosis, has to do with what we eat? What if the Eucharist really does provide us with spiritual nourishment? As we feast on the bread of life, we gain strength to move in the direction to which the Lord’s Prayer calls us. Like a body growing by eating healthy food, our desire to become like God grows stronger as we eat food from his heavenly table. Not just regular bread and not simply regular wine. No, if we become what we eat, and we receive Christ’s body and blood, through faith, we will embody more fully the Father’s kingdom and will on earth. If the bread and wine are only emblems and we become what we eat, perhaps we become only a symbol or an emblem of Jesus. That might be like wearing a button or having a bumper sticker, but not being fully engaged in the cause we represent.
But that wouldn’t satisfy me. I want to fully participate in the kingdom that comes from the heavenly realm. I don’t want to advertise it. I want to be it (even if I don’t do it perfectly)! So feed us dear church. Feed us the true bread that has come down from heaven and was given for the life of the world (John 6). Feed us so that we may become what we eat. Feed us so that we may become what the names implies – Little Christs! Thy kingdom come…indeed!
Peace,
Leon
