Today’s Scripture Reading (September
7, 2012): Deuteronomy 8
The quality
of cafeteria food is always questionable. It is just a function of budget and
the need to make a meal suitable to feed a large group of people. Add to that
the fact that we all seem to taste food differently and every cafeteria is a
hotbed ready for complaints. And when I was in college I have to admit that I
do not think that a meal was made that did not set somebody to complaining. But
one meal stands out in my memory. Well, not exactly the food as much as the
reaction. It was customary to pause to pray before the meal, thanking God for
the food that had been prepared for us. But on this day, the food got one
student too upset to pray. I was standing in line getting ready to pick up my
meal when he returned to the meal line. And, standing in front of the kitchen
with the food still in his hand he called out to the cook – “Hey, I asked God
to bless this, but he said no.”
Most of us laughed,
although admittedly our beloved cook was not impressed. But we also missed the
point. We had food. Not every meal was to our liking or our standards, but we
had food. In a world where people too often seem to have to go hungry – both now
and all through history - we had a meal.
It has been
the tradition in my family to pray before the meal. Part of the reason for the
prayer before the meal is precisely because the presence of the meal is the
reason for praise. No matter what the meal is, in a world where there never
seems to be enough, just the presence of the food demands a response of praise
from those who are preparing to eat.
Israel knew
famine – the nation in the very beginning had been born during a time of
famine. But God was about to give them the land and the ability to feed
themselves. And for Moses, as they finished the food that had taken the pains
of hunger away, that was the time to pause and thank God for what had been
eaten.
Whether we
pray before or after the meal really is not that important. What is important,
and what Moses needed the people to understand, is that we need to recognize
who it was that provided the food.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading:
Deuteronomy 9
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