Well, I'm really excited to tell you tonight
that some recent research has in fact shocked
the medical community. The diagram before you
represents what we always thought we knew about
both the circulatory system and the digestive
system. How they were these separate things,
right? For decades we assumed that, you know,
when you ate something it went down your esophagus
into your stomach and meanwhile your heart pumped
blood throughout your body but these were separate
organs and they were separate pathways. Well,
groundbreaking research. has discovered something
amazing. In fact, it's located in the recent
issue of the scientific journal Apatitis, the
international journal of misplaced longings.
It was reported there that there actually has
been discovered a direct connection between the
digestive system and the circulatory system between
the stomach and the heart. Look at this. Researchers
have discovered the existence of a large pipe,
a large tube that they're calling the cardiogastric
canal that actually connects the stomach directly
to the heart. Now, why we didn't realize this
earlier, I actually just don't know. I can't
say. But there it is. plain as day for all to
see on this very realistic looking diagram, right?
And its presence has actually once and for all
confirmed what we all had thought, right? That
there is a connection between our hearts and
our stomachs. There's a connection between our
desires and our appetites. Now in some instances,
an irregularity can take place with the cardiogastric
canal. What can happen is it can lead to something
they call confused craving pathway. And it happens
when the hunger in your stomach and the desire
in your heart start to get confused with each
other. The heart is longing for something, but
you start eating instead. And if left unchecked,
it can turn into what they call full -blown CMAS,
chronically misaligned appetite syndrome. And
you guys, you can read all about it, like I said,
in the journal, Appetitis. In fact, if you'd
like to subscribe to Appetitis, you can subscribe.
There's quarterly publications, and it's $200
a year. And after the service, I'd be happy to
sign you up, if you would like. Well, this is
very important information It's especially important
tonight as we are wrapping up our teaching series
Which has been on the seven deadly sins the seven
deadly sins. We've looked at pride We've looked
at envy and sloth and greed and lust and wrath
and now tonight we come to gluttony gluttony
is all about the confusion and the connection
between our hearts longings and our stomach's
appetite. Most people, when they think of gluttony,
they just think of the stomach, right? They picture
somebody at a buffet going back for their third
plate, or they picture somebody going through
the drive -thru, getting the super -sized combo
meal, and that is definitely part of it, right?
The word gluttony, the Latin word gluttony, actually
comes from the word that means to gulp down,
right? So yes, gluttony is all about what we
eat, why we eat, how we eat, when we eat. The
ancient monks, though, who gave us the seven
deadly sins in the first place, they actually
showed that gluttony has a number of different
symptoms, five different symptoms. And we're
going to go through these, and just people, if
one of these hits close to home, do not feel
bad, because I'm sure that you are in very, very
good company. The first symptom of gluttony is
called eating hastily. And that's just eating
too quickly, right? It's like you can't wait
to eat. Before anyone else has sat down at the
table you're already halfway through your meal.
It just smells too good. It looks too good. You're
having dessert and they've barely finished their
salad, right? Because gluttony always puts the
food on the table. above the people around the
table. It becomes more about consumption than
community. So eating hastily, eating quickly
is a form of gluttony. Another symptom of gluttony
is eating sumptuously. This is eating that only
wants the very best food, the fanciest fare,
the most expensive food, even if we can't really
afford it. Now I just want to say, of course,
nothing wrong with a great meal. A wonderfully
prepared meal can be a real gift, and chefs are
gifted and skilled and deserve to be paid for
every bit of work they do. But gluttony demands
that level of food at every meal. You know, mac
and cheese isn't enough unless it's, you know,
mac and cheese with truffles and very expensive
exotic ketchups, right? So eating hastily, eating
sumptuously, the third symptom of gluttony according
to the ancient monks is eating excessively. This
is, of course, the one most of us think of when
we think of gluttony. It's just eating too much.
It's drinking too much. And often, for no particular
reason, you're just bored or maybe you're sad
or maybe you're a procrastinator. You open the
fridge, you don't really know why, but you just
eat and eat and eat. Why do we do that? The fourth
symptom of gluttony is eating greedily. And this
is when food actually starts to become territorial,
right? Now you eat with possessiveness. You're
looking around the table. You're eyeing the food.
You're trying to figure out if there's enough
for everyone. You want to get the biggest piece.
You're guarding your fries like they're gold,
right? You're darting. You're hoping people don't
take too much and not leave enough for you. It's
greedy. It's territorial. But the fifth symptom
of gluttony is eating daintily. Now, this one
might actually surprise you. It's actually not
about eating too much. It's about just getting
too fussy and too picky about what we eat. Oh,
this isn't hot enough. Oh, I like my poached
eggs not that runny, or no, now they're too runny,
and so on and so forth. Oh, I asked for my toast
to be triple toasted. Not once, not twice. Triple
toasted. What part of triple toasted don't you
understand? I don't want a lot, they say, but
I want it just. so So we eat too fast too fancy
too much too selfishly too picky Meanwhile Jesus
asks us this question is not life more than food
All these symptoms they point to the same problem.
We're trying to feed an appetite in there, right?
But is that appetite is that desire coming from
our stomach or our heart remember? They're connected.
What makes us do this? Well, there are a few
underlying conditions I'd like to point out.
Again, you can read all about these in Appetitis,
but the first condition, the first condition
that causes us to behave this way when it comes
for food is what we call a relational rupture.
Gluttony happens when we neglect the people connection
with food. Eating was meant to be something that's
done by community, in community. Eating brings
us together. Eating is how we get to know each
other and form relationships. Gluttony, though,
makes the food on the table more important than
the people around the table. In fact, who needs
them anyways? They're just going to eat more
of what I could have, right? And so gluttony
actually distracts us. distracts us from the
presence of people. And here's the flip side
of that is food sometimes distracts us from the
absence of people. We're lonely. We want people,
but we can't have people, but our stomach says,
well, you can have food. And so we eat. The messages
all get confused. When we forget the people and
focus just on the food, something sacred is lost
in the act of eating. The conversation is gone.
The laughter is gone. The connection is gone.
You know, there are places in our world where
they still to this day, they eat slowly. It takes
a long time for them to have a meal. It's communal.
It's a relational event. There is actually a
movement called the Slow Food Movement that is
trying to reclaim this idea of that food, eating
food is more about people. But we live in a culture
that is speeding up, not slowing down. We rush
through meals like there are pit stops, right?
It's purely utilitarian, our eating. We just
want to get something in us and keep on going.
No eye contact, no conversation, just consumption,
right? Now, where is the relationship, I ask
you? When you've got one hand on the wheel, another
on a burger, another, your chicken nuggets in
your armpit, and your dipping sauce between your
legs. It's pretty impressive if you can pull
that off, I must say. But... You're totally disconnected
from people. Now, I think actually if somebody
from another century were to come and watch us
eat, they would say, what is wrong? What's wrong
is there's a relational rupture. That is the
first underlying condition of gluttony. The second
underlying condition of gluttony is spiritual
amnesia. Gluttony happens when we just forget.
Man, food is a sacred thing, right? In the Bible,
food is not just fuel for our bodies. It is one
of the most powerful spiritual symbols in the
entire story of God, from Genesis all the way
through to Revelation. Food, it doesn't just
keep us alive. Food is how God teaches us. to
live. Let me prove it to you. Look, the very
first meal in the whole Bible, the first time
anyone reached for a piece of food, Adam and
Eve, they weren't physically hungry. They were
just spiritually confused. Again, the connection
that they took the fruit, not because their stomach
needed it, but because their hearts were hungry
for control. They were hungry for independence.
They were hungry for knowledge. The apple They
thought the apple would satisfy that hunger,
but the real need was for God, something only
God could fill. Fast forward. Now we have Israel.
They're walking through the wilderness and they
are hungry, right? They're very hungry in the
wilderness. And the Lord says, I will... give
you food and I will rain down manna from heaven
but it was only enough just enough for each day
and what was God teaching them he was teaching
them to let go of their instinct to hoard food
he was trying to retrain their hearts onto him
this is the Bible has this rich rich sacredness
about food. Or take about this, when Jesus was
being tempted by the devil in the wilderness,
the devil says, if you're really the son of God,
turn these stones into bread. But Jesus refuses,
not because food is a bad thing, but because
Jesus would rather be hungry with God than be
full without God. Okay, and then Jesus of course
he didn't just he didn't just preach about food
He he ate his way through the kingdom of God
the son of man came eating and drinking We are
told he just kept sitting at tables with all
the wrong people and there were prostitutes the
poor the outcasts These meals obviously were
not about indulgence. It wasn't about filling
a stomach. They were about invitation They were
about creating community And then one more, just
don't forget how the story of the Bible ends.
The story of the Bible ends when there is a final
feast. This is not a snack. This is not some
kind of takeout container. This is a wedding
banquet, the wedding supper of the Lamb, where
we will all sit down and all of our desires and
all of our hungers will finally once and for
all be satisfied. Do you see how deeply spiritual
eating is? how deeply sacred food is, but we
look at food and we don't see anything spiritual
about it. It's just grub, right? We're just bodies
with stomachs and we need to put something in
it. That is spiritual amnesia. We've forgotten
the sacred connection of food. So so here we
go. We've got our first condition is that we
have separated food from relationship The second
condition is we separate food from spirituality,
but thirdly and perhaps most deeply gluttony
arises through disordered desires That's when
the old Cardio gastric canal Confuses us and
we're not sure how we're feeling inside. We're
not sure whether that desire we are feeling is
actually for food or whether it's for God whether
that is our stomach grumbling or whether that's
our heart aching gluttony is not just a stomach
problem it is a heart problem they're connected
and of course we need food to survive but the
thing we need most of all our deepest need is
not for food it is for So that ache that you're
feeling down there, that restlessness that you're
feeling down there, that might not be emanating
from your stomach, that might actually be coming
from your heart. And what you're really hungry
for is the love of God. Gluttony causes us to
look for, to look to food for things that only
God can really give us. Comfort and identity
and... peace and all that stuff the heart and
the stomach I'm telling you they're connected
you got to read the journal now think about it
think about I mean think about how many times
that we eat why do we eat when we're not hungry
that's it you know I don't know it's why do we
try to use food in our stomach to soothe our
soul it's that inner wiring it's connected that
causes us to feed our bodies thinking it will
satisfy the ache in our heart so Thomas Aquinas
He said that gluttony is not sinful because food
is bad. It's sinful because we love it in the
wrong way. Food's meant to nourish us. We treat
food like it's something that completes us. And
when that happens, when all of those... underlying
conditions come together, whether it's the relational
rupture, the spiritual amnesia, and the disorder
desires, the result can be one of the most dangerous
of all disorders, and that is chronically misaligned
appetite syndrome, or what the Bible calls idolatry.
We make food an idol. Food gives us peace, not
God. Food gives us comfort, not God. Food relieves
my pain, not God. You know, Paul once talked
about a group of people, and he said, their God
is their stomach. When we obsess over food, when
we plan our day around it, when we comfort ourselves
with it, when we reward ourselves with it, food
has become an idol, and our stomach is our God.
When we find more joy in a good meal than in
God's Word, More comfort in a hot dish than the
Holy Spirit, more excitement about dessert than
discipleship, then we're no longer just enjoying
food, we're worshiping it. And food was never
meant to bear the weight of our worship. It will
always let us down. But we don't just worship
it, we're enslaved by it. The glutton is not
a free person, but a slave to their cravings.
It's the same for all the deadly sins actually
the real question it comes down to is who's in
control Do we rule our appetites or do our appetites
rule us? But good news good news according to
the journal no according to the Bible There is
a cure. There's a cure for the symptoms. There's
a cure for the conditions. There's a cure for
the disorder of gluttony. And what better place
to discuss it than in a church. Why is that?
Because if gluttony is worshiping the wrong thing,
then the cure for it is not some new diet, but
it's actually worshiping the right thing. Jesus
said, I am the bread of life. And when he said
that, he was offering himself as the one and
only thing that will truly satisfy the cravings
and desires of our hearts. He's offering himself
as the true object of our worship. Jesus is the
only one who can reach down deep into your disordered
body and actually satisfy the hunger of your
heart. And so I want to just end really practically
and give you three prescriptions you can take
away today to help you cure gluttony as ever
it shows up in your life. Here is the first way
to cure it. Say grace. Just say grace when you
eat. I don't know if you say grace when you eat.
Some people do it religiously. Other people have
never done it. Some are kind of embarrassed to
do it. Some are too rushed around to do it, or
you feel it's old -fashioned, whatever. But Saint
Grace is just a simple way to remind us this
food is a gift. This food is a gift. Like manna
in the wilderness, it is meant to be received
with gratitude, not grabbed with greed. Saint
Grace reminds us we are needy creatures. We're
not self -sufficient. Saint Grace reminds us
the food comes from... God's hand. And I know
this doesn't sound like much, but a quick prayer
before you eat can actually turn that meal into
worship. Right? And now the meal is not about
worshipping the food, it's about worshipping
the one who gave us the food. The food becomes
a way to thank God, not to replace God. So that's
the first thing we can do. Just say grace. The
second cure... is practice fasting, right? We
have been learning about fasting this Lent. Many
of you took the fasting course, and if you did,
then you will know that fasting isn't just about
abstaining from food. It's actually about reordering
our desires. Just as gluttony disorders our loves,
when we fast, it reorders those loves. It reconnects
things in the right way. In fasting, We decide
on purpose we want to be hungry. Not because
we're going to punish ourselves, but because
we're retraining our hearts and we're going to
eat. Not because we're hungry and not because
we're bored and not because we're sad or stressed.
We're not going to do that. Fasting, you know,
says no, I am not ruled by my appetites. I am
willing, in fact, to be empty in order to be
filled with God. And here is the paradox that
in fasting, we actually become more aware of
the real hunger we have inside us, not for food,
but for God. Fasting, therefore, becomes feasting
on the love of God. So, finally, and this is
where we were going the whole night anyways,
the final cure for gluttony is something we're
going to experience in just a few moments. Monday
Thursday, we're going to come to this table that
is going to totally reframe our hunger. This
meal is called communion. Sometimes it's called
the Lord's Supper. Sometimes it's called the
Eucharist. But it invites us not just to come
and consume food, but to come and commune with
God and with each other. That night at the table,
Jesus took bread. And when he had given thanks,
he broke it, and he gave it to his disciples,
saying, take it, it's my body. And then he took
a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave
it to them, and they drank from it. This is my
blood of the covenant, which is poured out for
many, he said to them. Now sometimes people have
asked, why do we have communion every single
week here at Trinity Streetsville? It adds time
to the service. The service could be 15, 20 minutes
shorter if we didn't do communion. You're right,
it takes time. Communion slows everything down
and isn't that great. Because in a fast food
culture, in a culture detached from community,
in a gluttonous culture that says, I just need
to be fed and I need it now, Jesus gives us this
meal. Not as our own little private indulgence,
not to satisfy our stomachs, it's not gonna fill
your stomach, but to reorient our hearts toward
the cross, to re -center our lives on his grace.
And the more we hunger for this meal, the more
it cures us. Communion, look, look what it does.
Communion cures that relational rupture, because
we eat together. This is not your own little
private picnic with Jesus. It is a shared meal
where everyone comes together and we are reconciled
with each other as we gather around this table
together. Communion also cures our spiritual
amnesia. Do you know what Jesus said when he
gave us communion? He said, do this in remembrance
of me. I want you to remember. I want you to
not forget the story of God, the story of who
you are, the story of how much God loves you.
And as we remember that story, as we remember
Him, we're reshaped by Him. And communion, of
course, Finally, it cures us of all those disordered
desires. The Lord's Supper is a disciplined act
of eating and drinking that teaches us how to
desire rightly. That's the sermon in a sentence
because here at this table, hunger gets retrained,
appetites get realigned, idols get dethroned,
gluttony says I need more, Eucharist says Christ
is enough. At the table we learn that ache inside
of us isn't for food. is for fellowship with
the one who made us. So, that's it. Let's end
this, though, by not being too hard on ourselves.
It is really easy to confuse the craving for
food with the desire for the love of God. It's
that darn cardio gastric canal. You can read
all about it, as I mentioned, in the journal,
Appetitus. But tonight, we've seen the symptoms,
we've understood the conditions, we've explained
the disordered desires, and now we know the cures.
Jesus. Doesn't want to leave us hungry. He's
inviting us to this table tonight Not just to
consume but to commune not to indulge but also
to remember and not just to fill our bellies
But to calm our restless hearts Guys, this is
not just a ritual This is not just a symbol This
is a cure This is a cure. So come with your hunger
with all your disorders Come with your empty
hands and your messed up cravings and be made
whole at this table. Thanks be to God.