Cooking Up a Kingdom

Everyone knows Joe, my husband is an amazing cook. Because he is sooo great and creative with food, I just don't even cook often. So when the mood hits me and I can find a reason (read excuse) I am on it. Yesterday was one of those days. It was finally time for an "in person" staff meeting. While we would have to meet distanced and safely, we could have a real conversation about the new pivoting required for this hybrid ministry season. I was craving some good, clean food. So I cooked for my staff. My food would be yummy and beautiful. This was not a hope. It was a proclamation.

I decided we needed a great salad with some grilled chicken. Well, Joe grilled the chicken because I will never measure up to his grilling skills and that boy knows how to season that bland chicken breast making it something you not only enjoy but crave days to come. I got butter lettuce, leaf lettuce and even some Romain lettuce for variety. No flavorless iceberg for this special salad. I added sweet, mini bell peppers in different colors because we not only eat with our mouths but we also dine with our eyes. I was able to have a few homegrown cucumbers. which I could not have had with out the generosity and gardening skills of my friend Pam Petty, scallions, and homegrown tomatoes.

To add some zing I peppered the cubed tomatoes and covered them with lemon zest before adding them to the salad. Most importantly I salted them too. A tomato without salt is just...well...bland. Seasoning them before they are added helps them retain their flavor as they are tossed around in the salad.

       

I made my air-fried, fried green tomatoes because that is what fine Southern ladies eat for lunch with some spicy sauce on the side, its tradition. We washed it all down with homemade peach tea and topped it off with peach crumble. It was yummy to me. But the best part was the sharing of recipes and the laughter that came with gathering. Ahhhh, community, friendship, gathering and food. It is beautiful. 

I am working my way through the Sermon on the Mount; the sermon Jesus preached over the course of a few days in an area believed to be The Mount of Beatitudes in northern Israel. Jesus is teaching to all that would hear the values of the Kingdom that God is promising to His followers. While he began with eight blessings we know as the Beatitudes, he then tells us the ethics or values of the Kingdom. Much like a fiancé, spinning dreams for his lovely, bride-to-be, of their futures together, Jesus tells those that will become His bride, the church, the way "it" will be one day.

As I study, immediately following the blessings, Jesus teaches of salt and light. In the Gospel of Matthew 5:13-14 Jesus tells the people, and us that still listen to his voice, that we ARE salt and we ARE light. Jesus told his disciples and those that hoped to be disciples that being salt makes them give life flavor, and needed components for life. In Jesus' time salt was a preservative that kept food from spoiling. Salt was something more than just something needed to spice up life, it was necessary to life. Salt also is needed to be consumed in order to live. The concept of needing salt is hard for us 21st century Christians, but for 1st century followers of Christ, salt was not hidden in copious quantities in all of our food. They didn't need salt free foods, they needed sodium. It is necessary to help our nerves and muscles to work properly as well as to keep our blood volume right and our blood pumping. Jesus is telling his listeners that they were life sustaining, as well as enhancing to the rest of the world. They are also light. We know the advantages of light, but once again, in a 1st century world, light was critical as when it was dark it was impossible to see even the closest item directly infant fo your eyes. As light, the disciples would be what people needed to see and what people should see is the beauty of God as shown through Christ, not anything that resembles darkness. 

As we ate the food, I thought about how Jesus asking the disciple to live out their saltiness was on display through our lunch. We shared rich ideas and thoughts. We all love our church and want so much for the Kingdom we are building in Jesus' name. Our words were crisp, fresh and beautiful. Our dreams were flavored with hope and light, despite our current situation. We understand that people look to us for leadership in this new world. The future may have a different menu, but it will still carry some traditions done in different ways, (trust me, air-fried fried green tomatoes are as good, if not better.) The world can still be sweet and filled with community and friendships. It is all in how we build this Kingdom in Jesus name; a kingdom rooted in love and care for one another, shaped in the willingness to live life a little differently but still with flavor and beauty, a place we crave to be for days to come. We will have a Kingdom that is built on the love and teachings of Jesus Christ, with the values he lived and preached and we will gather, one way or another, in His name under His eyes. We will have a Kingdom that is flavor-filled and beautiful. This is not a hope. It is a proclamation.

Today:

👩🏾‍💻 Read Matthew 5, trust me.

👩🏾‍💻 Ask yourself, where could I sprinkle my salt to give life

👩🏾‍💻 Look at yourself and be certain your light is not hidden.