Declamation #2

Cooking is worship. The modern church has lost a fundamental factor in worshipping God, and enjoying him. God is not merely the God of our heart and head; He is also the God of our stomachs. A survey of the Bible demonstrates that God is interested in what we ingest. When it came to sacrificing bulls and goats, the ancient Levitic priests were commanded to cook and eat a portion of the sacrifice. The altar was not a stage for pyromania, but a divinely ordained barbecue. Moreover, the Jewish celebrations weren’t merely weeklong church services; they were feasts. Surely in the newer and better covenant this glorious aspect of worship ought not be lost, but made more glorious. Christians are called upon to prepare their hearts for corporate worship throughout the week, by the study of the scriptures in individual devotion. How much more fitting is it to prepare for the great Feast, by preparing and eating good meals? The Westminster Divines considered worship the proper response to God’s lordship, sovereignty, and goodness. There are few greater ways of celebrating God’s lordship and goodness than partaking of the vegetation and beasts that God has to men. Cooking is worship most fundamentally in that by cooking Christians are mirroring Christ who prepared food for the twelve, and for five thousand. If Christians are expected to make joyful sounds, and earnest prayers, and they certainly are, then they are also expected to make rich sauce, bake fresh bread and roast red meat.