PASTOR DAVE’S MUSINGS FROM THE HEARTLAND

October 30, 2024

EATING BEAUTY

                In 2006 Dr. Ann W. Astell, a professor of English at Purdue University, published a book with the somewhat ambiguous title of Eating Beauty (Cornell University Press). From a very technical and in depth perspective, she explores the relationship between the Roman Catholic’s Eucharist and the arts during Middle Ages.

A part of the framework for her discussion is the aesthetical, Middle Ages understanding of beauty. “What is beautiful is so because it calls and attracts us to the good, and because it has a visible form, a definable proportionate, and a pleasing shape.” (Eating Beauty, p. 2)  Such beauty can be only apprehended by the two spiritual senses of seeing and hearing, not by the three physical ones of smelling, tasting, and touching.

This aesthetical understanding of beauty would seem to indicate that there be nothing beautiful about eating.  One of the possible interpretations of the title of Astell’s book, Eating Beauty, is that in consuming food any possible beauty is consumed and destroyed.

Dr. Astell finds a way to cross this chasm between beauty and eating in philosopher Leon Kass’s understanding of bread in his book The Hungry Soul (New York: Free Press, 1994).  “The making of bread from grain, after all, is a complex process in many stages that requires an ‘artistic transformation’ of raw materials.  The same community that works together to produce bread is strengthened in turn, through meal-sharing and companionship life’s journey.” (Eating Beauty, p 12)

Diane and I are presently teaching a six week course at LifePlex on “Foods of the Bible.”  The Sunday school class I lead is currently doing a four week study of “Foods at the Time of Jesus.”  The focus of the first session for each is bread.

In the first century C.E. Israeli women would have to rise early in the morning so that they would have the daily ration of bread ready for the day.  The whole process would take four to five hours.  In making bread a woman could choose from wheat or barley flour.  In lean times broad bean flour was an option.  Various herbs and spices were available to add flavoring.  Yeast necessary to make the bread rise was obtainable from grape skins, dough that had been set aside for four days, or starter from the previous day.  Very often the bread was baked in a community oven.

Today, there are different kinds and types of breads available for the consumer.  There is a growing interest in making one’s own bread.  Bread making has moved from being a daily chore to an art.  Now the many options of breads call attention to what it means to eat healthy, what is good for the body and soul, and what it means to be in harmony with all of God’s creation.  There is something beautiful about a fresh baked loaf of bread just out of the oven.  Smell and sight go together to behold a work of beauty.

Today there is a longing by many to move away from the commercial, processed, chemically treated offerings at the grocery stores back to the basic ingredients of old fashioned cooking and baking.  People feel a need to get in touch with the essence of life as God created it.  Eating has become a sacred ritual that connects one with all of creation.  All five senses have become a pathway to the Holy, the sacred, the Good, and the Beautiful.

(This article was originally published October 30, 2011.  Comments may be sent to davidh15503@embarqmail.com.)