What's Cooking?: The 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

WELCOME! If this is your first visit to the Blue Collar Preacher blog, this is what you can expect: 1) thoughts on connecting next Sunday's readings to some form of daily work and 2) a first draft of my upcoming homily posted by Noon on Thursday.

Your personal comments on weekday work-Sunday worship connections are ernestly encouraged and your constructive criticism of the homily draft are much appreciated.

A RICH FEAST

I have parishioner and friend named Jeff (pictured above) who is a professional chef. Last year his wife Susan decided to join a church (ours, happily!). Jeff would attend the RCIA sessions with her and would frequently draw connections between his work as a chef and the meaning and experience of the Eucharist.

One evening he brought along a book, BAKED AND BE BLESSED, written by Benecitine monk, Fr. Dominic Garramone, OSB.

Here is a quote from that book that expresses Jeff's view of "kitchen spirituality." It also conveys the Benedictine understanding of how daily labor can connect us to God (which by the way, is the main focus of this homiletic website):

To some, it may seem novel to consider the home as a sanctuary, a sacred place where one encounters God's presnce and power, but in fact this concept has been a part of the monastic tradition for centuries....For example, St. Benedict writes that the tools of the monastery should be regarded as the sacred vessesl of the altar and therefore treated with the same reverence. In that way, daily labor can be seen as contributing to the sanctification of the individual and that of the community as well. In the Benedictine view, every activity can teach us something about our relationship with God.

I'm hoping to spend some time in the kitchen with Jeff this week. I'm sure he will have some unique insights into these readings. So, stay tuned. In the meantime, please post any thoughts you care to contribute to the on-line discussion. Below is the first draft of this Sunday's homily. As I mentioned above, your constructive criticism would be much appreciated.

HOMILY FOR THE 28TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Today’s readings center on dinners, banquets, great feasts…
At first glance, these readings make us think about
all the time and preparation involved in throwing a big bash.

The list of entrées in the first reading
makes us think about some of the decisions involved
when it mentions not just “rich food and choice wine,”
but “juicy rich food, pure choice wine.

And what about that invitation list in the gospel
that gets completely out of hand?:
“Go out to the highway, the interstate,
the truck stops. the rest stops…
invite everybody…anybody!”

Anyone who’s ever planned a wedding
knows how much effort it takes
to make sure that anxiety
over details preceding a celebration
not destroy the happiness and joy
on the day of the celebration itself.

How do brides and the mothers of the brides
keep their focus
under all the pressure?

Well, you’ve heard the saying,
“The devil’s in the details?”

Well, if the devil’s in the details,
then God must be in the relationships.

In other words,
relationship is everything.
Details are secondary.

Last Sunday night, I joined a group of high school students
and we watched a clip from the movie called “The Big Night.”
It’s the story of two Italian brothers with a restaurant called IlParadiso.
Well, there’s lots of trouble in paradise.
The brothers clash over what kind of dishes to serve.
They disagree on how to run the business,
who their clientele should be
and how the bills should be paid.

But, in the end, they put aside their differences
and throw a great feast.

Relationship is everything.

I talked to a man from our parish who is a chef.
His name is Jeff…Jeff the chef!
Now, let me tell,
I’ve experienced some of Jeff’s meals.
They are out of this world!
I’ve never tasted food like the food he prepares.

But you know what makes Jeff a great chef?
It’s not his recipes.
It’s not his filet mignon or sherried mushrooms or crown roast of lamb.

No, for Jeff, food is personal.

This is what he told me last week:
“Father, the best compliment I can receive as a chef
isn’t when my food is compared to the Maisonette
or some other four-star restaurant.
It’s when someone says my cooking
reminds them of the food they once enjoyed
at their grandparents house
or the Christmases at the family farm
or a special dinner their mother used to prepare.
You see, Father, it’s not the taste that’s important,
it’s the memory.”

Which is, of course, another way of saying
that it’s all about relationship.

And, after all, isn’t that exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ
hoped that you and I would experience
every time we gather for this great feast called the Eucharist.

“Do this,” he said, “in memory of me.”

“Do this…be in relationship with me.”

“Join in this meal, for I hold you in my heart.”