Why God Gave Us Himself As Food

“Sadder than destitution, sadder than the beggar is the man who eats alone in public. Nothing more contradicts the laws of man or beast, for animals always do each other the honour of sharing or disputing each other’s food. He who eats alone is dead (but not he who drinks alone. Why is this?),” Jean Baudrillard. America. trans. Chris Turner (New York: Verso, 1999), 15.

There is something special about food. It really is that which allows us to live; without food, there is only death. And what we eat really becomes a part of us; the old cliche “You are what you eat” is founded upon a simple truth, one which is understood the world over. We become what we eat. God became man so that man can become God. By partaking of the gift of Christ’s flesh and blood, we slowly become what it is we consume: the body of Christ; and it is by becoming the body of Christ we slowly become one with our neighbor as they too become the body of Christ.

But what are the implications of this? By the way Christ gave himself over entirely to us, to be consumed by us so as to become one with us and to unite us with our neighbor, he has shown us the way to live out our lives. We are to give ourselves to others, to work for their well being, and not our own. Instead of the suggestion of St Francis of Assisi (and many others before him), who said we should become like a corpse, unable to feel the hate directed at us, we are to become like food. We shall be treated as food is treated. And how is it treated? Both with great respect in its preparation (but look how it is prepared — sliced, diced, burned, mixed up with other ingredients, other pieces of food) and with great enjoyment as it is being consumed (but look at how it goes down — gnashed, torn apart, thrown from side to side, before it finds its very substance, its very essence, being taken away from it). This is the Christian life. By becoming one with Christ, we become food for the world — the salt of the earth. But, for a Christian who looks after themselves and for themselves over everyone else; for those who follow the path of individualism, of ego, Christ said this: “if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men” (Matt. 5:13b).