LEFTOVERS - Neal T. Anderson
©November 25, 2007
I hope that many of you found much meaning in what was brought to the table
this Thanksgiving, that you had the chance to join with family and friends and while
breaking bread together and share a little bit about what you are thankful for. Just in case
you didn’t have the chance on Thursday let us just take a moment before the sermon
continues to practice our attitude of gratitude. Turn to your closest pew buddy and share
with each other one thing that you are thankful for.
Wonderful, sharing gratitude is a religious act as we affirm what it is that
allows us to live the best lives possible. Was there anything that you thought of as being
grateful for that you did not have a chance to share? Do you have any leftover morsels
of Thanksgiving gratitude? You are so lucky that you do and I would encourage you to
continue the spiritual practice of sharing gratitude.
I felt very fortunate on Thursday that despite my lack of family in Ohio I was
able to share in not just one but two Thanksgiving Day feasts. The first followed a more
contemporary style, which included celery soup and baked squash with maple syrup. The
second was what I would call traditional, as there was turkey, stuffing, cranberries, salad,
sweet potatoes, rolls and more. One thing that both these meals share in common was
that not only was there plenty for the Thanksgiving meal but there was also enough food
for at least another meal. These bits of food that are not consumed at the meal, as you all
know are called leftovers.
I have often heard people talk about the leftovers more fondly than the
original meal itself. Even yesterday I overheard someone at the Thanksgiving table
excited that the cook was making more gravy as it could be used on his leftovers.
I have very fond memories of waking up the day after Christmas Day; in
Canada we called the day Boxing Day. Being exhausted from the day before our family
would sleep in a number of extra hours missing breakfast and getting up in time for
lunch. The lunch consisted of putting out all the food that was leftover from the previous
days meal. It is with amazement that I reflect on these events and recall that those
leftovers often tasted much better than the exact same food did in the original meal. Why
was that? Was it that the flavors in the food had a chance to mingle and get to know each
other better in the refrigerator overnight providing a well-rounded taste sensation the next
day. Possibly? It could be that the food simply tastes better on a day where there is not
so much pressure. Holidays can bring with them huge expectations and many extra tasks
in the day. At times we can rush through our holidays not taking time to savor the tasks
and tastes that are part of the day. The day after with simple leftovers and time to relax,
it is no wonder that the food tastes better.
There are times that leftovers are not always that appetizing. Living as a
single guy who loves to cook I am often confronted with more leftovers than I know what
do to with. Yes they can be eaten for lunch and supper the next day and lunch and supper
the next and maybe even breakfast but at some point the leftovers loose there luster. I
can get to the point where one more bite is just too hard to swallow.
Maybe you have had the experience of having a fridge full of leftovers and
having really nothing at all that appealed to you. I am reminded of going to the fridge or
cupboard and seeing many things leftover from other meals and wondering what I could
possibly do with them. I think to myself, wouldn’t it just be easier to start over again.
Our two readings this morning, one the fishes and loaves story from the Book
of Mark and the other by Rev. Gordon McKeeman, once the minister at the UU church in
Akron as well as a former president of Starr King School for the Ministry, point to two
ways to examine the idea of leftovers. Rev. McKeeman points us towards the personal
spiritual journey that leftovers suggest and Mark reminds us of the political importance
that leftovers can take today and two thousand years ago.
I have noticed recently a collection of articles exploring the environmental
impact of leftovers. It seems that there is a new resurgence around the use of leftovers as
opposed to throwing them away that is being spurred on by a new effort in the United
Kingdom. An article that I found in a paper from New Zealand included a bold frontpage headline explaining, “How Leftovers can Save the World”. A campaign has started
in the UK to encourage people to find ways of using their leftovers as opposed to
throwing them away. According to some research in the United Kingdom alone 6.7
million tonnes of food waste ends up in land fills every year. One only has to consider
the amount of carbon inputs that went into growing, manufacturing and preparing the
food to realize what an enormous impact wasted food has on the ecological well being of
the planet. Take the petroleum-based fertilizer that helps create healthy soil and the
diesel fuel it takes to run the tractors that harvest the food and trucks to transport it. With
fresh produce it takes extra energy to ensure its refrigeration from field to store. Some of
you may be familiar with the concept of the ecological footprint. Briefly the ecological
footprint is a calculation based upon the amount of resources that on average it takes each
of us to survive the day. The more resources you use the larger your ecological footprint
will be. Research shows that food waste is a key issue in the process of reducing our
ecological footprint.
One of the leaders of the British effort to reduce food waste commented that,
“if we stopped the amount [of food waste] that we could stop, it would be the same as
taking one-fifth of cars off the road." The campaign will urge people to plan meals, write
– and stick to – shopping lists, make smaller portions, and learn to prepare and cook
leftovers and food past its prime.
My grandmother Lily Anderson was a member of the Women’s Institute in
Pense, Saskatchewan. I consider it to be an early feminist organization as it afforded
women the opportunity to gather not only to discuss issues of homemaking but also
political issues of importance to rural women. The Women’s Institute originated in the
United Kingdom during the Great War to provide instruction to women on how to make
the most of food supplies. There techniques were also very helpful during the depression
area when stretching food was essential for a family’s survival. A spokesperson for the
effort concluded an interview by stating, "It is about re-establishing our relationship with
food. Being aware of what you buy. Eating what you buy. Too many people are buying
food and then throwing it away. It is a cost to people's pockets and to the environment.
People don't realize that waste food is bad for the environment. They think it just rots
away."
I read recently that in Hong Kong diners at one particular restaurant are being
charged 64 cents per ounce of food that is left on a their plate. There seems to be a desire
to reduce the impact of food waste in Hong Kong as in the United Kingdom.
Recall the reading from Mark this morning. Most people have heard this story
referred to as the fishes and loaves story. It seems that Jesus had come upon a large
crowd and not wanting to let an opportunity to preach and teach go by he engaged them
in what seems to be a day of instruction. By the end of the day according to the story
there were 5000 gathered. Jesus’ disciples being concerned about the health and well
being of the gathered crowd asked Jesus if they should send them into the surrounding
villages to buy bread. Jesus responded by asking his disciples to find something for the
gathered people to eat so they didn’t have to continue traveling so late into the night.
Rather than sending the disciples to purchase food Jesus asked them to provide the crowd
what they had. The story seems miraculous as after Jesus broke and blessed the five
loaves of bread and two fishes that the disciples cobbled together their was enough food
for the entire crowd of five thousand to have enough to eat. In fact in the story there are
enough leftover scraps to fill up nine more baskets. Where did all this extra food come
from?
In her book “Jesus the carpenter’s son” Unitarian religious educator Sophia
Lyon Fahs tells the fishes and loaves story. Her interpretation of this classic bible story is
that when the crowd saw only 5 loaves and two fishes, those that had extra food with
them began to share it with the rest of the crowd. Rather than the supernatural creation of
food from nowhere people had brought with them leftovers from there tables and together
made a feast to feed the entire crowd. It seems that these people realized the importance
of saving and utilizing food in the most efficient manner possible. I would suggest that
the act of not only saving but sharing that saved food with others is the spiritual message
of this biblical perspective.
It seems that it is not only essential that we can accept, utilizing all of our food
leftovers is also a healthy and sustainable process but also understand and find ways to
incorporate our metaphorical life leftovers in a healthy and sustainable way. There are
times when we can feel ourselves a little like those leftovers at the back of the fridge
covered in yesterday’s tin foil or sealed in the latest plastic space saving device. Yes we
were useful and important for a little while and somehow we now feel relegated to that
corner of our lives, like the refrigerator where we feel as if we just don’t matter.
Rev. Gordon McKeeman in the meditation that was our first reading this
morning had us think about how each of us, if we take time to look in our metaphorical
refrigerator door have many leftovers to examine as well. He suggests that you may find
your “family’s voices, their admonitions, perhaps their praise, maybe their blame, their
warnings, some expressions of their love, (and possibly) their anxiety.” Dig a little
deeper into your cupboard of leftovers and you may find a few other long forgotten
morsels. There may well be “all the ruins, sorrows, guilt’s, regrets, along with the fears
and the hopes, dreams and doubts, forgivings and forbiddings.” Yes it seems that each of
us do have our fair share of metaphorical leftovers in the refrigerator and cupboards of
our lives.
So at times each of us may feel a bit like a leftover relegated to the back of
the fridge or possibly have thoughts and feelings that are leftover’s from our lifetimes
experience. Given this reality how might we wish to treat these leftovers? With a little
creativity and perseverance will they become a tasty and delicious new meal on another
day or will the leftovers get relegated to the back of the fridge to be long forgotten about
until eventually we may no longer be able to ignore them!
I have recently encountered my own struggle with leftovers. Maybe some of
you have had similar experiences in the past or are struggling right now with your own
leftovers. There have been times in my life where I have felt a higher degree of anxiety.
These times have been hard in the past and something that I have come to accept in my
life. I have discovered that there are times that will bring higher levels of stress into my
life. Maybe you have experienced this as I have during significant transitions, whether it
is moving from one place to another, settling into a new job or starting a semester at a
brand new school. I have learned to expect that I may have a little bit of anxiety creep in.
Yet at some point in the past I decided that all the practices I had put into
place to weather these personal storms were most likely no longer necessary as I felt
quite comfortable with how I had handled the most recent transitions without much stress
at all. My coping techniques were put to the back of my metaphorical fridge. Next to the
plastic wrapped coping techniques was the slowly molding anxious feelings that
sometimes creep into my life. Somehow the feelings had got behind a few other
containers in the fridge and I could no longer see that covered pot of anxiety. One day
without much warning that pot of anxiety that I had forgot about made it abundantly clear
that it was still in my fridge. Looking around at the leftovers I took a peak into that pot
only to be overwhelmed by its smell.
Having forgot about that pot being there and letting it fester with no attention
meant that it was really time for me to use some of the techniques that I had collected
over the years to help me deal with this one rotten pot.
My first thought was that at times, like on the morning after Christmas or
Thanksgiving that having friends and family around to help with the leftovers is not only
wonderful but also essential. In my own case when I discovered or more accurately was
reminded about some leftovers of my own that needed to once again be creatively
handled I called upon my friends and family to remind me of recipes that I once knew
well and forgot over time. Having the support of family and friends to provide ideas is a
blessing to me. Knowing we can reach out beyond ourselves for new recipes and help
with our leftovers is essential to our own health and the health of our communities.
I recall a number of years ago taking my students to Wanuskewin Heritage
Park just outside of Saskatoon. Wanuskewin was the site of a buffalo jump that was used
for hundreds of years by the First Nations of the plains to help them in their quest for
good food and good health. One of the lessons that we were taught that day was when a
bison was killed that the entire carcass was utilized. Every piece of that bison had a
purpose and nothing was wasted. Hence in this case there really was no leftovers.
It is important to realize that in the case of the bison the entire animal was
seen as holy in sacrificing its life for the health and life of the people it was to feed and
clothe. Just as the bison without any leftovers is holy so are each of us. Yes we may find
lurking deep at the back of our metaphorical refrigerators some leftovers from our lives
that we really wish was not there. I believe that without them we would not be who we
are today. May we each embrace those leftovers that we may not care to much for and
with the help of family and friends create new recipes that incorporate them into a new
dish that is our life.