Christmas Cookies

There are so many cookies, and all of them great. There's also candy, food, cake and chocolate. It's all everywhere. I feel like the surfaces (tables, desks, etc.) in my life are being covered with food designed to fatten me up and slow me down. We put up a resistance to it, but this doesn't mean much. We eat more during the Christmas season than any other time of year. And it's not just that we eat a lot; we like it a lot. In Micah 5:2 it says, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” I've always enjoyed that Bethlehem means "house of bread." Jesus said, "I am the bread of life." The one miracle besides the resurrection that's in all four gospels is the miracle of Jesus feeding 5,000 people (probably more) using a boy's lunch. It was a miracle of food - easy to understand. Dear friends of mine are Hasidic Jews. For them, food is spiritual. Everyday they expend great effort to eat certain things and not eat other things. Every decision carries great spiritual weight. Food is spiritual. Well, of course it is. The bread of life was born for us. In communion, Christ describes us as eating His flesh and drinking His blood. We feed on Christ or we don't live. He is our essential spiritual food. To believe is to receive and feed on Him, to take Him in. More than this, it is to enjoy feeding on Him. No joy or satisfaction exceeds this. Our overeating is sometimes a sign that we are not satisfied, that we have not fed on the only One who satisfies: Jesus Christ.

How much are you eating and enjoying food this Advent and Christmas season? How spiritual is your eating? Are you feeding your soul as well? Are you feeding on Christ?