culinary |ˈkələˌnerē; ˈkyoōlə-|

of or for cooking      

Essentially, culinary art is about the PREPARTION and PRESENTATION of food.  PREPARATION has to do with planning, thinking (e.g. formulating a recipe), gathering ingredients, accounting for everything needed, implementing the plan, putting the pieces together, combining ingredients, emulsifying, marinating, depouillage-ing, stirring, searing, boiling, baking, frying, deboning, acidulating, carmelizing, finger-tip testing, sauté-ing, grating, homogenizing, infusing, julienning, macerating, pare-ing, reconstituting, shucking, tempering, unmolding, venting, warming, whipping, whisking, etc.  PRESENTATION has to do with plating the food, giving attention to the arrangement and composition, having a concern that the excellence/quality of the cuisine would be complimented by an adequate display of the food, and of course presentation would also include the serving of the food, the method of conveyance, and the manner in which it is brought to bear upon the consumer.  


Why do I explain all of this?   


As you read through Scripture you shall find that God is rather culinarianistic in His redemptive pursuit and sanctification of His people.  If you consider the culinary terms in the paragraph above perhaps you see some connection to the way in which food is prepared and the way in which God must deal with His people (e.g. whipping them into shape so to speak).  But even more importantly than God’s culinarianistic dealings with His people, is God’s preparing and presenting of Himself as food for His people.  You see, no matter how much God might shuck, sear, julienne, macerate, grate, whisk, and/or pare his people they would still be in no condition to be in a relationship with a perfectly holy God.  And therefore God takes it upon Himself to do for them what they could never do, and then draws them nigh to feast on His culinary accomplishments performed in their stead.   


In John 6 we see that God Himself becomes our feast!  The abundance and jubilance of which is seen in the preceding chapter when Jesus miraculously provides a feast for thousands and thousands of people in a desolate context where, seemingly, no food (let alone a feast) is available.  


In the Bible we see that God diligently planned for this feast - preparing it from before the foundation of the world (Lk. 22:15; Jn. 17:24; Eph. 1:4; 1 Pet. 1:20; Rev. 13:8).  The planning that went into the meal of God’s people/the Lord’s Supper/the wedding feast of the Lamb (Luke 22:14-23; Rev. 19:6-10) can be seen throughout the Bible in the abundance of rich and enjoyable food in the Garden of Eden, the Passover feast, the manna in the desert, and the many appointed feasts (Lev. 23:2) (e.g. Feast of Unleavened Bread [Hag Ha Matzah]; Feast of First Fruits [Yom HaBikkurim]; Feast of Weeks [Shavuoth]; Feast of Booths [Succoth]; Feast of Purim; etc.).    


Ultimately, Jesus is the fulfillment of ALL these feasts!  He Himself is THE FEAST!  Every meal of the Old Testament is alluding to Him!  Jesus is food that will not spoil.  Jesus is the food that will endure to eternal life (Jn. 6:27, 58).  Jesus is HE who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world (Jn. 6:33).  Our food is the person and work of Jesus Christ!  The very fact that food is so necessary to each and every person on the planet alludes to our necessity for Jesus.  This necessity for food is seen in the fact that we absolutely need food to sustain our physical bodies, and then there is also a necessity found in the personal aspect of food.  It is not simply the fact that food keeps people alive, but that food is inherently personal.  This is because ultimately FOOD IS A PERSON!  Have you ever noticed how really important, substantial, significant, historic moments and events are inextricably coupled with food?  For instance, think about the following events and commemorations:  Thanksgiving, Weddings, Inaugurations, Barmitsfas, Quinceaneras, Anniversaries, Birthdays, Funerals, etc; it is customary (or at least not uncommon in the least) to have food at any/all of the aforementioned events!  …And it’s not just any ole food, which is prepared and presented, at these important events, but it is wonderful, memorable, fancy, expensive, beautiful cuisine!  This is because we are made in God’s image, and therefore we come equipped with a fundamental, inescapable, personality and dignity.  Thus, when it comes to our food, the fact that we are persons/personal beings is extremely relevant and noteworthy.  In short, because we are persons (as opposed to beasts) we demand that our food be artistic – that is to say, full of truth, goodness, and beauty.  There is a divine link between our being made in God’s image, and the fact that we have such a thing called “culinary ART” (as opposed to “just food”).  


Jesus Himself knew the art of dining with people; He knew that the atmosphere of a meal is inherently relational.  For instance, remember when Jesus met Zacchaeus - and though Jesus could have talked to Zacchaeus right then and there and then been on His way – He insists that they talk back at Zacchaeus’s house over a meal.  Moreover, when Jesus had arisen from the dead and He goes to see His disciples at the sea where they are fishing, Jesus prepares broiled fish for them on the beach before they meet.  Certainly Jesus (in His glorified body) does not need food, and yet the small group meeting does not commence without breakfast.  And of course the meal of all meals for the people of God this side of heaven is the Lord’s Supper, which Jesus Himself instituted on the night He was betrayed.  It’s as if Jesus insists that we not only engage in meals with Himself, and one another, because of the relational mileage intrinsically found within, but ultimately because it is in a meal wherein we find our salvation.  It is not enough that we would be merely aware of the importance of the Lord’s Supper, or that we would merely like the idea of this meal, but we MUST CONSUME the feast that God hath provided!  That is the reason the meal is PREPARED!  That is the reason the meal is PRESENTED!  The meal is not to sit dormant, we are not to be idle nor apathetic in approaching the table of the Lord.  We must come to the Lord’s Table with a true sense of our desperation of what it has to offer.  God invites us to dine with Him (Rev. 3:20).  God invites us to CONSUME Him.  This is the only way to have life (Jn. 6:53)!