Vegetarian Life

One year ago today I was heading back to Sioux Falls, SD from a visit to my parent's and shopping for a wedding dress. As usual, I stopped in Watertown to give my old and tired car a break and to fill up with gas. On this occasion I also made a stop at McDonald's for some savory chicken nuggets as I had decided that the next day I was going to start my journey into vegetarianism.... and a delicious journey it has been thus far. For the last year I have repeatedly been asked "why?" and sometimes, "WHY?" For a good part of the year I knew my own reasons but was not sure how to articulate them. Ethical? Yes. Nutritional? Yes. People understand these reasons and they typically stifle further questions (bonus) but neither really get at the reason I became a vegetarian.

I have always had a soft spot for animals and if I thought about what I was eating while I was eating meat usually I suddenly became full. My brother's still tease me to this day about my first attempt at becoming a vegetarian. I was in about sixth grade and we were probably have pork or some meat I didn't like for dinner and in order to avoid eating it I claimed that I was a vegetarian. When it came to dinner the next night at McDonald's I claimed that I was a vegetarian... with exceptions and proceeded to order a cheeseburger. After suffering much ridicule from my brothers for my pseudo-vegetarianism, I surrendered and withdrew my statement about being one and continued to enjoy meat until one year ago. This time I went at it with a fuller understanding of my reasons, a little more self-control, and a little less desire for fast-food.

This may come as a shock to those of you who know me well, but scripture has become the source that allows me to articulate my reasoning for being vegetarian. In the first creation story of Genesis God says:


"I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. ³⁰ And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." 

While I do not take a literal approach to the scriptures, I do think there is some weight in the fact that this ancient story, which has been preserved because of the wisdom it offers, suggests that humans might not have the right to seize life for their own advantage as we see fit. The Old Testament is filled with stories of sacrifice, rules about sacrifice, sacrifices gone wrong etc. Sacrifice was practiced not only to give offering to God but to prepare the meat being sacrificed and to give thanks for the life that was being given in order that others might thrive. So far in the Old Testament we go from no meat to meat that is properly appreciated and recognized as a sacrifice. Today, in my experience, people typically give no heed to the lives that are created, lived, and sacrificed just to give and nourish the lives of people. (This story is oddly similar to another pretty big one in the New Testament, please take note and feel free to wrestle with this). People too easily take for granted the sanctity of life in all beings. In this last year I have become so much more aware of the sanctity of life and have come to mindfully appreciate the sacrifices that creation undergoes in order for me to have life.

 SO... why am I a vegetarian? It humbles me, it challenges me, and it is one small thing I can do to protect and honor the sanctity of all life. Am I telling you that you should become a vegetarian? Not necessarily (although I fully support anyone's decision to become one). I do ask, however, that the next time you eat meat you sincerely give thanks and appreciate the life that was sacrificed in order to give you life and that you take only what you need.

Peace.

Be Centered.

While I never thought that and Early Church History class at 8 a.m. would inspire anything in me, yesterday morning as we discussed worship in the early church I was reminded about what the center of ministry is. Communion. One would never believe me after cruising through the communion line on a Sunday morning but to the early church the "love feast" was the majority and the center of worship. Each person brought what they could and the community broke bread and drank wine together in celebration of the resurrection. During the last supper Jesus says, "remember me." Are we really remember Jesus and the Christ story together when we file through to receive a pinch of bread and a swig of wine on Sunday morning? When I think about the way we remember people as we celebrate their lives I would say no, we are not remembering Jesus. When we remember others we tell stories, the good and the bad, and these stories about a common loved one unite the people present. Remembering a person creates fellowship and community in honor of that person and what they have done for each persons life. 


Communion in the early church was not a funeral, it was a celebration of life... life everlasting. It is a celebration in memory of the story of Jesus and the risen Christ who lives among us. The celebration of communion was the center and the fabric of early Christian life, it appeals to every aspect of humanity offering the hungry food, the thirsty drink, and the lonely fellowship. When prayer is done in communion the community shares its need with one another and the community is called to be the body of Christ and to meet the needs being expressed. Communion goes beyond basic human needs, however, and reminds all people that not only are they worthy of life now, they are worthy of life everlasting with the risen Christ. Whether or not I am sure about this life everlasting, which is a topic for another post, the gospels say that we are made worthy of it. When people are turned away from the communion table they are being told that they are not worthy of the bread, not worthy of the life. As I remember Jesus I don't remember those words. I remember the center of the Christ story being a love that transcends any social, political, racial, economical, etc. boundaries. Amen. 

God's Peace.

A new day

This last month has been full of new experiences and new places, changing relationships, and a couple bitter-sweet goodbyes. A couple of weekends ago Joshua and I went home to say goodbye to my car, my parent's house, my best friend, and my family as it has always been. I found myself repeating the phrase:


When the world around you seems to be crumbling just close your eyes, take a deep breath, and open your eyes to a new day.


I am not sure if the phrase came from somewhere or if I made it up, but when I felt like I was about to lose it, it seemed to do the trick. Not all the change has been bad; I got married, started seminary, moved to the cities. However, I found that even the good change has its trials. 


Amongst the trials is my constant see-saw ride with my vocation. Sometime I walk back from class hating the idea of being in seminary and terrified of the responsibility I will have if I become a pastor, thinking maybe I interpreted my calling wrong. Other times I know I am in the right place. This morning, for example, as I visited a congregation near the capital building and was moved nearly to tears as they read the scriptures in THREE languages!!! One community worshipping one God together, differences abounding. I have no idea what the sermon was about, but it was clear that something true was happening amongst those people. 


All the change has reminded me why I am here, though. I remember another time in my life that everything seemed to be crumbling and, quite literally, it was only by the grace of God that I stood. My faith remained constant, a solid standing ground, as I was lifted up by the love of God's people. I am here because since that time I have felt an urging to lift others up and to stand with them on solid ground so that when everything is changing we can close our eyes and know that we will open them to a new day.