What would you choose? Imagine this scene. You find yourself on death row. The execution is scheduled for early tomorrow morning. The warden and the chaplain inform you that you may choose any food your heart desires for your "last supper" tonight. What would you select? Why? Last week a tiger escaped from a secure enclosure in a San Francisco Zoo,  fatally mauling a 17 year-old man. Death comes suddenly.  Former Pakistani prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, was the victim of a political assassin's bullets on Thursday, ending her anticipated political ambitions once and for all. Death enters without invitation. Allowing a class of children to name a Teddy Bear "Mohammed" in Islamic Sudan had an angry mob baying for the death penalty for the naive British school teacher who managed to escape execution by the "skin of her teeth." Death beckons unexpectedly. If the dead had known that the next day would be their last day on earth, what would they have done? What would they have chosen for their "last supper?"

 

Melanie Dunea did some interesting research on food selection for her book, My Last Supper. She compiled information from 50 top chefs regarding what they would pile on their plates for their final meal. The majority of these doyens of the restaurant and bistro surprised her by selecting relatively simple foods: fried chicken, a hot dog, a bowl of spaghetti, a tuna sandwich, scrambled eggs, or a doughnut. Since the response was so unexpected, she began to seek the reason for these rather mundane selections. On Wednesday night I asked each person to tell the Bible Class what their "last supper" would be if they knew that this was to be their last day on earth. I also asked them to tell why they would make that particular selection. Apart from a few exotic choices, we all mostly chose in harmony with the chefs. There were few trendy, sophisticated gourmet delights. The reason seems to be that eating is an emotional experience usually associated with pleasant memories. Some of the responses were, "That was the meal that my mom cooked on Sundays when the whole family was together." "That's what we were eating when we decided to get married." When the end comes, there is a tendency to return to memories that made us feel happy and contented. A nice meal that resonates with happy memories is the "culinary equivalent of a big hug." Food often adds a dimension of who we are.

 

Food not only features in the scriptures, but it is also linked to emotional well-being. When the fugitive-from-Jezebel, Elijah, was lonely, depressed and defeated, the angel told him to "Get up and eat," 1 Kings 19:5-8. It is hard to be depressed when you have ready access to chocolates, isn't that so? (After all, chocolate contains serotonin, a known antidepressant). On the abortive ship journey to Rome, Paul advised his terrified fellow storm-tossed mariners to eat, Acts 27:33-38. They ate and were encouraged. (Please pass the roast beef and mashed potatoes). On the other hand, the power of denying someone a meal together with fellow Christians was used in Bible times to restore the fallen, 1 Corinthians 5:9-11. How did it make you feel when everyone was invited to a party, but you were left out? Depressed? Angry? Discounted?  See, eating together and special foods have an emotional impact on us. We just might be what we eat. Doctors think so, don't they?

 

Leonardo da Vinci painted the familiar scene of the Lord's Last Supper as the artist himself envisioned it. The Bible states that all the disciples were present. The topic of discussion was serious. It revolved around the incredible forthcoming events of the execution of their beloved master. Undoubtedly, the discussion took a turn that made some of the Lord's closest friends somewhat uncomfortable and uneasy, Matthew 26:20-35. There was talk of a triple denial by a trusted friend before the rooster crowed. A betrayer was singled out from among the inner sanctum. There appears to have been confusion about the predicted events. The cuisine for that "Last Supper" was unleavened bread and fruit of the vine, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26. That's the part that is best known to us. Every Lord's day, we re-enact that Last Supper in what we call the "Communion service," 1 Corinthians 10:16 (KJV). We ruminate. We imitate. We participate. We anticipate. 

 

I would hope that my last supper would be at His last supper on the Lord's day. The deepest spiritual emotions are associated with that event. Unworthy as we are, He vicariously took our justifiable fate upon Himself. He died in our place. I can only exult in that! I hope that you do, too.

 

Love you all,

 

Al--"The Horne of Africa"

 

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