Read: Psalm 81
I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide and I will fill it…I would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you (Psalm 81:10 & 16, NRSV).
When our dentist tells us to “open wide,” we may hesitate. But in the end—if we’re grown-ups—we do it anyway because we know that cooperation is our best option. Short-term discomfort beats long-term tooth decay.
So, why can’t we demonstrate the same scrap of maturity when it comes to accepting God’s care? Why are we so slow to pry open our jaws when God invites us to “open wide”?
You’d think it would be easy. After all, God is not the cosmic dentist but the cosmic baker. “Open your mouth wide and I will fill it,” God coaxes. “I would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”
Yum! Honey whole-wheat bread. Who wouldn’t want a slice?
A lot of us, probably. This may come as a surprise, but we humans do not always want what’s good for us. Why eat whole wheat when we can have Wonder Bread?
Most of you are probably too young to remember Wonder Bread. I’m not. In spite of the fact that the ad assured us that this fluffy excuse for bread helped to “build strong bodies in 12 ways,” I think most of us knew that that it wouldn’t. But that didn’t stop us from gobbling it up—along with our TV dinners and our canned SpaghettiOs. And lest you start feeling smug, I’m not sure our eating habits have improved appreciably. What part of the chicken is actually represented in a chicken nugget?
What does God’s offer to feed us with “the finest of the wheat” look like in day to day life?
I’ve thought a lot about this as I’ve made my way back into the classroom this year. After three decades of teaching the Old Testament to seminarians, I know what it doesn’t look like. It doesn’t look like giving them easy answers. It doesn’t mean leaving their assumptions unchallenged. It doesn’t look like making them comfortable.
Don’t misunderstand. I’m not one of those Bible professors who enjoys shattering people’s faith. In fact, my goal is just the opposite. I want to help my students build a stronger faith. I don’t promise to do it in twelve ways, but I’d be delighted if—with the help of the Holy Spirit—we managed one or two!
At the end of the day, making people comfortable in the education process is highly over-rated. I’m not talking about traumatizing anyone, but a little bit of discomfort can be a good thing. Life is full of analogies that bear this out. Athletes use resistance training. Bread is better with a little fiber. If J.R.R. Tolkien hadn’t introduced a little conflict into his story, Frodo and Sam would never have left the Shire.
So, the next time you find yourself feeling challenged in your faith, open wide. God may be coaxing you to swallow something good for you.
Ponder: In the psalm, God prefaces the invitation to “open wide” with this reminder: “I am the LORD your God who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” How does that reminder make you feel about accepting what’s on offer even if it’s a little hard to swallow?
Pray: You satisfy the hungry heart with gift of finest wheat. Come, give to us, O saving Lord, the bread of life to eat.*
*This prayer by Omer Westendorf is the basis for the beautiful refrain in “Gift of Finest Wheat,” here performed by Richard Proulx and the Cathedral Singers.
Food for Thought Series
“We are Christians, which means a Table is at the center of our most sacred stories. We follow Jesus, who ate with diverse groups of people throughout his ministry; who came to ‘fill the hungry with good things’ (Psalm 107:9; Luke 1:53)—Grace Hackney*
These words remind us of the central role that food plays, both in the Christian life and in Scripture. In this series we will enjoy just a “taste” of the many, many Bible passages that feature food. Some will be fun; some will be serious. But all of them will provide food for thought.
Enjoy!
Carol M. Bechtel
* Grace Hackney, Eating Together Faithfully: A Framework for Conversation (Life Around the Table), 13.