Ben's September Letter
For no reason in particular, my annual physical falls the week after Labor Day most years. Discussion is similar most years, and inevitably my doctor will suggest I start eating a Mediterranean diet. And then…I don’t. Maybe this will be the year.
I asked our new Director of Outreach and Communications, Kimberly Atkins (who, side note, is brilliant, and whom you really need to come meet at Lunch Bunch on September 17) if she had any ideas for a Banner cover this month. And though she didn’t know that my doctor will advise me on my diet in a few days—she suggested based on some of her work that I talk about “spiritual food”, the diet we consume that feeds our life of faith. The coincidence was too good for me to talk about anything else.
The Bible talks often about how we are fed spiritually. In the wilderness, the Israelites are fed physically and spiritually by manna (Exodus 16). Jesus describes himself as the Bread of Life (John 6), and describes the word of God as food for people in Matthew 4. Peter talks about “spiritual milk” that feeds and helps believers to grow (1 Peter 2). In Galatians we read about “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5) that grows when the Holy Spirit is present. And of course we
celebrate the Lord’s Supper, when bread and wine become spiritual food, symbols of Jesus’ life and death and purpose (Luke 22).
Bread…milk…fruit…wine…maybe not a recipe for a balanced diet. But when it is the bread of life, pure spiritual milk, the fruit of the Spirit, and the wine of the new covenant…it begins to seem more like something we can rely on. Allow me this month to be your spiritual doctor: you need to watch your spiritual diet. Take in
those things that draw you closer to God and other people, which make you kinder and more loving. Avoid those things that distract you from God, or which make you angry or hateful toward those around you.
What we take in shapes our quality of life. It’s why my doctor cares so much what I eat. So this month (and every month), watch your spiritual food.
In Christ,
Rev. Ben