"FOOD AS INSTRUCTION"

                 children  sitting  in  the  market  places  and calling to

                 their  playmates, "We piped to you, and you did not dance:

                 we  wailed, and you did not mourn".  For John came neither

                 eating  nor  drinking,  and they say "He has a demon"; the

                 Son  of  man  came  eating  and  drinking,  and  they say,

                 "Behold,  a  glutton  and  a  drunkard,  a  friend  of tax

                 collectors  and  sinners!"  Yet wisdom is justified by her

                 deeds.

            In   Jesus'   similitude,  "this  generation"  is  compared  to

            children  in  the  marketplace,  who  complain  about those not

            playing  the  games  according to the rules.(16) Jesus' critics

            are   likened  to  quarrelsome  children.   The  similitude  is

            applied  to  John  the  Baptist and Jesus.  Both John and Jesus

            are  expected  to  play  according  to  the rules of the games. 

            John  does  not  dance  when  the children pipe, nor does Jesus

            wail  when  the  children wail. Jesus' opponents disparage John

            because  of his ascetical eating practices, charging that he is

            demon-possessed.   For  first  century  Jews,  the  Baptist  is

            labelled   with  the accusation of deviant social behavior.(17)

            Jesus,  on  ther  hand,  is  disparaged  because of his liberal

            eating  practices,  and he is accused of being "a glutton and a

            drunkard".    The  phrase  "a glutton and a drunkard" refers to

            Jesus'   habit   of  holding  tablefellowship  and  perhaps  an

            allusion  to  the  joyousness  and festivity characterizing his

            meals. (18)  

                 Ostensibly,  the  issues  are  the eating practices of the

            two.  Both John and Jesus no longer eat as Jews:

                 ...In   the   Jewish   tradition,  one  establishes  one's

                 identity  according  to  the  food  one  eats...The Jewish

                 people  have  always constituted themselves as a group and

                 have  marked  themselves  out  as different from others by

                 their  common  eating customs.  A "Jew" is, by definition,

                 someone  with whom other Jews share the same eating habits

                 and with whom, therefore, they will have a meal. (19)

            John's  offense  is his not eating with other Jews; his deviant

            social  behavior  is  his separation from Jewish table customs. 

            He  fasts  and  eats  only  locusts and wild honey.(20)  Jesus'

            offense  is  not  the  quantity of food eaten nor the amount of

            wine  drunken.  His offense is with whom he eats and associates

            at  table.   It is the second invective that seriously offends;

            it  is  the  issue of the social network of relationships. (21)

            Jesus  is  labelled  a  "friend of tax collectors and sinners". 

            "Tax   collectors   and  sinners"  refer  to  all  those  whose

            occupations,  deviant  lifestyles,  or religious failures would

            stigmatize  them.  In other words, "tax collectors and sinners"

            refer  to  all  those  with whom pious and Torah-observant Jews

            would  not  eat.  The Jewish complaint about Jesus is how could

            a  true  reformer  of  the  Torah  be  so  lax about the purity

            system.   Jesus  like John is labelled as acting outside of his

            inherited  social  roles;  he  is  judged  "out  of  place" and

            socially deviant.(22) 

                 Jesus'  festive meals were celebrated with "tax collectors

            and  sinners",  those  who  had made themselves as Gentiles and

            were  excluded  from  covenanted  community.  His kingdom meals

            were  feasts.  Feasts are differentiated from ordinary meals on

            the  basis  of  frequency  and attendance. They tend to be held

            for  commensal  units  larger  than  kinship  units,  and  they

            provide  a meeting place for unrelated people.(23) Mary Douglas

            treats food as codes for social interaction:

                 If  food is treated as a code, the message it encodes will

                 be   found  in  the  pattern  of  social  relations  being

                 expressed.  The  message  is  about  different  degrees of

                 hierarchy,   inclusion   and   exclusion,  boundaries  and

                 transactions  across the boundaries.  Like sex, the taking

                 of  food,  has a social component, as well as a biological

                 one.(24)

            Jesus'  kingdom  feasts were encoded meals for "sinners". These

            "sinners"  no  longer  shared in the "group specific"  patterns

            that  identified  themselves as network members of the covenant

            community.  They  were perceived as at the bottom of the social

            hierarchy  or  outside of the community network. They no longer

            ate  with  the covenant community. These kingdom meals became a

            place  of  welcoming, a homecoming. Jesus functioned as host in

            these  kingdom  meals.  He welcomed outsiders and insiders into

            the  social  network  of  God's kingdom.   His eating with them

            symbolized  a  welcoming  into the kingdom community; they were

            welcomed   as   equals   into  the  feast.  His  welcoming  and 

            rejoicing  with  sinners  became  scandalous to the restrictive

            social groups and a threat to their group identity.

                 "I  tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at

            table  with  Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven"

            (Mt.  8:11).   This  saying  alludes  to the expected messianic

            banquet,  and Perrin believes that it is best contextualized in

            the  tablefellowship  of  Jesus.(25)  The universalism intended

            by  this  dramatic  statement of the kingdom collapses Israel's

            exclusive  hope  of  salvation.  It  reduces  all  programs  of

            holiness  that  separate  observant Jews from non-observant and

            Gentile,  or  it  may  be  understood  as  creating  new social

            boundaries   inclusive  of  the  outsider.   Here  this  logion

            asserts  that  Jew and Gentile will indiscriminately sit at the

            eschatological  banquet.   All  Jewish  social group boundaries

            erected  against  the  outsider  are  set aside.  Jesus'  table

            sharing  with those who made themselves as Gentiles becomes the

            anticipated  in-breaking  of  the new community of the kingdom.

            The  eating practices of the coming kingdom will shatter Jewish

            group  eating practices.  No longer will eating distinguish Jew

            from  non-Jew.   New  purity  maps  and boundaries will replace

            narrow  purity  maps  and  group  boundaries. Jesus defines the

            social   boundaries   of   his  kingdom  movement  through  his

            tablefellowship.

                 These  festive meals were a common feature of Jesus' life,

            and  he  attached  a great deal of symbolic importance to these

            meals.  They  embodied  his  kingdom  message,  or  rather they

            practiced  the  coming  kingdom.  They  were  rituals  for  the

            kingdom  practioners.(26)  Ritual  consists of symbolic actions

            that   represent  social  meanings;  they  are  enacted  social

            meanings.    Through    ritual,   groups   symbolize   meanings

            significant  to  themselves  and  their group indentity. Ritual

            gives  symbolic form to group cohesiveness, renews the sense of

            commitment to shared group goals and meanings.

                 Jesus'  ritual  meals were highly charged kingdom symbols;

            they   had   the  capacity  to  socially  situate  the  kingdom

            meaning.   His  ritual  meals  stood  as  symbolic  practice of

            social  acceptance  into  the  kingdom  group.   They served as

            group  boundaries indicating who was in the kingdom and who was

            outside.  For  Jesus,  the kingdom group boundaries were rather

            porous.   His  meals  included  wealthy  women,  publicans, tax

            collectors,  prostitutes,  social bandits, peasants, Pharisees,

            scribes,  fishermen,  merchants, scribes, and others. His meals

            included  the  blind,  the  lame,  the maimed, and the poor. We

            have  no  direct  indications  of Gentiles at table.(27) Jesus,

            however,  blurred  purity  and  social group classifications in

            his  eating  habits.  He  was  not interested in social rituals

            that  strengthened  the  purity  system  as  practiced  by  the

            Pharisees,  the  Essenes,  and  various pietistic associations.

            His  table  actions  were  deliberate,  for he was creating new

            purity rules and new social boundaries.  

                 Jesus'  meals  with  sinners  have  a proleptic dimension;

            sinners,  those  on  the  margin  of  and  those outside of the

            covenant   community  would  be  included  in  the  forthcoming

            kingdom.   Table  sharing  becomes  a  parabolic  action of the

            kingdom;  it  expresses the new social relationships and porous

            boundaries of the in-breaking kingdom:

                 The  central feature of the message of Jesus is, then, the

                 challenge  of the forgiveness of sins and the offer of the

                 possibility  of  a  new  kind of relationship with God and

                 with  one's  fellow (hu)man.  This was was symbolized by a

                 tablefellowship  which  celebrated  the  present  joy  and

                 anticipated  the future consummation; a tablefellowship of

                 such  joy  and  gladness  that it survived the crucifixion

                 and  provided  the  focal  point for the community life of

                 the  earliest  Christians,  and  was  the most direct link

                 between  that community life and the pre-Easter fellowship

                 of  Jesus  and  his  disciples...At  all  events,  we  are

                 justified  in  seeing  this tablefellowship as the central

                 feature   of   the  ministry  of  Jesus;  an  anticipatory

                 sittingat  table  in  the  kingdom  of God and a very real

                 celebration of present joy and challenge. (28) 

            It  was the openness of God's kingdom that was acted out in the

            Jesus'  table praxis.  God's kingdom included those not defined

            within  the  limits  of  holiness  boundaries of various groups

            within first century Judaism.

                 The  community that gathered in fellowship around the meal

            table  was non-exclusive.  It was open to to all without regard

            to  sex,  piety, class, or familial ties. It included the pious

            and  the  non-pious;  those  who  followed the purity laws with

            moderation  and  those  who  did  not.(29)   It included former

            freedom   fighters  and   publicans  and  tax  collectors,  who

            collaborated  with  the  Romans.   It included women and those,

            who  made themselves like Gentiles, and perhaps non-Jews as the

            Parable  of  the  Good  Samaritan  suggests.   Dorothee  Soelle

            points  out  that  this  fellowship  challenged  the  heart  of

            patriarchal,  androcentric,  and  familial structures of Jewish

            society.  (30)   This  becomes  apparent in the Marcan pericope

            where  Jesus  responds  to the question, "Who are my mother and

            my  brothers?":   "Here are my mother and my brothers!  Whoever

            does  the  will  of  God is my brother, and sister, and mother"

            (3:34b-35).  Jesus  redefines  the  social  unit  of family and

            kinship  in terms of the house gathering.  A new social unit is

            created in the fellowship of the kingdom.

                 Jesus'  table  praxis  was  a  novel  action, performed on

            definite  occasions  and  with  a  definite intent. (31)  Jesus

            deliberately  used  the  table meal as a group ritual much like 

            the  Baptist's  washing  ritual.(32) Tablefellowship was Jesus'

            group  ritual  for  making  kingdom  boundaries;  it  outwardly

            signifies  who is in the kingdom movement and who is outside of

            the  movement.   Exclusivist  holiness  ideologies    and their

            resultant  social  boundaries  are replaced with Jesus' kingdom

            ideology  and  its  social  parimeters.  Thus, Borg argues that

            Jesus'   actions   were  deliberately  provocative.  (33)  They

            provoked  various  holiness  ideologies,  and  this  had strong

            political  repercussions.   Jesus   was  violating  the  socio-

            political  and  religious-political eating codes of many Jewish

            interest groups.

                 Jesus'  teaching  shows  an  awareness  of  table  praxis. 

            Sitting  at  table was often an occasion for teaching, and this

            memory  undergoes  redactional amplification (Mk. 14:3-9, par.;

            Lk.  7:36-50,  10:38-42,  11:37-52,  14:1-24, 22:14-38).  Table

            sharing  was  often  the  direct  and  indirect  focus  of  his

            teaching  (Mk.  7:1-23,  par.;  Mk.  12:39, par.; Mk. 14:22-25,

            par.;  Mt.  8:11,  par.;  Mt.  232:2-26, par.; Mt. 25:1-13; Lk.

            12:35-38,  14:7-24,  17:7-10:,  22:27  &  30).   Jesus used his

            table  praxis  as  a  suitable image for the future (Mk. 14:25,

            par., Mt. 8:11, Lk. 22:30). 

                 In  Lk. 7:36-50, we have the special Lucan source in which

            Jesus  is  invited  to  a  meal  by  a pharisee.  A woman (who,

            tradition  implies,  was  a  prostitute)  hears  that  Jesus is

            there.   She  comes  and  washes his feet with her tears, dries

           them   with   her   hair,  and  annoints  them  with  oil.   It

            scandalizes  the Pharisee that Jesus allows someone as ritually

            impure  to  touch  him.   The incident becomes an occassion for

            Jesus  to  speak of the parable of the creditor who forgave two

            debtors,  one  with  five  hundred denarii and the other fifty. 

"Now  which  of  them  will  love him more?"(7:42) The woman has fulfilled the duties of host  whereas  the host has not.  Jesus reproaches the Pharisee

            for the lack of table etiquette.(34)

                 Whether   this   pericope  is  a  Lukan  creation  or  the

            redaction   of   an   already   existing  tradition  in  Luke's

            community,  it   is,  nevertheless,  a  living memory of Jesus'

            table  praxis.  Luke and his community remember that meals were

            opportunities  for  his teaching.  They were occassions for the

            speaking   of   parables.    Hence,   the  number  of  parables

            concerning  feasts  and  banquets.(35)   Food and teaching were

            interchangeable  symbols  in  Jesus'  praxis.(36)    Eating  at

            table  with  Jesus  indicated acceptance of his teaching of the

            coming kingdom, its new maps and purity values.

                 Jesus'  meals  were  occasions for celebrating the kingdom

            and  practicing  its  social interactions  in advance.   Eating

            at  his  table  indicated  acceptance of the new kingdom values

            and  social behaviors.  The woman recognizes the kingdom of God

            and  responds,  and  the  Pharisee does not.  She, a woman, and

            not  the Pharisee manifests the new actions of the kingdom. The

            social  order  is  reversed  in  the  coming kingdom. It is the

            shock   of  the  parable  of  the  Great  Supper  that  is  now

            experienced  (Mt.  22:1-14,  Lk. 14:16-24, Thomas 64).  Invited

            guests,  who  are family and kin, are replaced by the unwanted;

            they  are  replaced  by  the poor, the crippled, and the blind.

            Entering  the  kingdom  movement  will  split  families and set

            family  members  on  different sides of the new boundaries. All

            social  relationships will reversed in the new kingdom's order.

            Outsiders   become   insiders,   and   former  insiders  become

            outsiders.  This  is the case with Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus' change

            to  the  new  kingdom  values   is signified by his eating with

            Jesus  (Lk. 19:5-9). A similar reversal is found in the Parable

            of  the  Master's return (Lk.12:35-38).  Diligent servants will

            be  served  by  the  Master  himself   at table. Those who take

            prime  positions  at  table  will  be  forced to take secondary

            positions  while those in  secondary positions will be elevated

            to  prime positions (Lk. 14:7-11).  God's  freedom to shock and

            to  reverse  social values in the coming kingdom shatters human

            grasping   for  prestige  within normal social conventions.  It

            is  the radical unexpectedness and freedom  of God that remains

            as  the  central  core of Jesus' message. God is free enough to

            be  available.  And  that  availability will change the social,

            political  and  religious  structures of this world. For Jesus,

            God's availability becomes enacted in the form of the meal.

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