Eat, Drink, and Be Hungry
It's emptiness, not fullness, that Jesus blesses.
John Koessler
8/17/2007

Excerpt:

"Eating and drinking play significant roles in Old Testament worship. Indeed, the shedding of blood was at the heart of the Mosaic covenant. As the writer of Hebrews notes: "The law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (Heb. 9:22). Where there was shed blood, there was also food. Priest and worshiper alike celebrated God's provision of righteousness with a meal.

Old Testament worship made special note of the prodigal nature of our appetites. The Law of Moses, with its long list of clean and unclean foods, seems obsessively concerned with diet. Some have interpreted these regulations primarily as a regimen for healthy eating, but I think the message is more serious. The list reminds us that we are addicted to an unwholesome diet. Righteousness is not our natural food. As a result, we are being consumed by our appetites. Like our first parents, whose hunger for forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden led to the fall of our race, we too long for food which seems good, pleasing, and desirable, but which will destroy us in the end. Even worse, our efforts to sate our hunger and slake our thirst ruin our taste for a better diet." the rest