Monday, January 15, 2024

It is the 15th of January 2024. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

Hey. A happy Monday to you- a federal holiday, so perhaps you have the day off. I’m going to speak into existence right now that the Rams won last night, and all is right in the world.

I have an email for today- another one from north of the border- from Jessica in Kingston in Ontario, Canada. You Canadians send some great questions. Kingston, of course, once the capital of Canada, was named for King George III (down here, he’s not that popular). You have the Hockey Hall of Fame, which claims to be the birthplace of Hockey, but we are forever grateful that you- Kingston- gave us Bryan Adams, who sang the theme song to Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves with Kevin Costner (the second best Robin Hood). Ok- Jessica writes:

“Are there foods or cooking practices specific to Christianity? I know in other religions food is important and am wondering if there are foods or traditions in the history of Christianity?”

Oh, Jessica, this sent me down a rabbit hole- it’s a great question. Of course, in Judaism, there is a strict regiment as to what you can and can’t eat- what is “kosher” or not. And in Islam, you have a similar idea in claiming foods to be “Halal” (permissible) as opposed to “haram.” The place to start with Christianity comes from two places in the book of Acts. First is Acts 10- a pretty wild story; Peter falls into a trance and sees unclean foods and is told to “kill and eat,” and a voice calls out, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” Peter, characteristically, has to be shown three times before he gets it, and from then on, the church has taught that there are no dietary restrictions. Of course, it comes to a head in Acts 15 with the church’s first council- the Council of Jerusalem- where the Christians can’t agree on the nature of Christians' relationship to Old Testament Law. James gets up and says, “abstain from food polluted by idols, [and] from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.”

The church has been largely of one accord on the interpretation of these texts: there is no food you can’t eat, but in light of the consciences of others, it might be wise to abstain from certain foods at certain times.

That is not to say there is not to say Christians haven’t had varied practices and traditions. Fasting has always been an accepted practice- often from meat. It was initially on Good Friday, as part of Lent, that Christians abstained from meat, which became a Roman Catholic practice to abstain from meat on ALL Fridays. Your church might have a pancake feast on the day before Lent begins- this is called “Shrove Tuesday.”- “Shrove” comes from a word for confession, as you would confess your sins and prepare yourself to observe the Lenten season. It has also been called “Pancake Tuesday” or “Fat Tuesday” as it evolved into a day of feasting on sweets and other foods that will be put away for the Great Lent.  

When it comes to tradition, there are so many foods, from hot cross buns to king cakes, soul cakes, easter eggs, and more. Of course, eating is a central act to Christians. When the early church got together, we read it for “the breaking of the bread,” which can refer to communion but also regular meals. When do most Christians pray out loud? Before eating.  And this makes sense as one of the key metaphors for our union with Christ comes from consuming bread and wine at communion (and of course, all the food references in the Old Testament and for God's provision for his people point to this “ultimate” meal.

There have been pockets of Christians who hold to a “Noahic” law- predating Moses- one of these being not to eat the flesh torn from a live animal. Others have claimed that the call in Genesis 1, “See, I give you all the seed-bearing plants that are upon the whole earth, and all the trees with seed-bearing fruit; this shall be your food…” calls for vegetarianism but this is a very small minority in the history of the church.

And, of course, I could get into Christian weight loss programs- a specialty of American Evangelicalism, but that’s a different beast altogether. Jessica- great question and one that gets to the root of grace and freedom but also loving one another and following our conscience. Thanks, and stay warm up there.

The last word for today is from the daily lectionary- from one of my favorite Psalms, number 86:

Hear me, Lord, and answer me,
    for I am poor and needy.

Guard my life, for I am faithful to you;

    save your servant who trusts in you.


You are my God; have mercy on me, Lord,

    for I call to you all day long.

Bring joy to your servant, Lord,

    for I put my trust in you.

You, Lord, are forgiving and good,

    abounding in love to all who call to you.

Hear my prayer, Lord;

    listen to my cry for mercy.

When I am in distress, I call to you,

    because you answer me.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 15th of January 2024, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man whose only dietary restriction is a strict ban on Folgers crystals- he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who still contends that walnuts were produced by the fall and will be banished in the new Heavens and Earth. I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.