Two of my favorite things are food and theology (probably not in that order).  So, it is fitting that one of my favorite theology-related books is The Supper of the Lamb by Fr. Robert Capon (who was a priest in the Episcopal Church).  How can you not love something which bills itself as a "theological cookbook"?

Among his many reflections on the nature of food and creation, Fr. Capon makes a wonderful observation about dieting.  He's against it.  Rather than "dieting"--which he views as reducing the wonderful and diverse foods God gave us for our enjoyment to mere calories and fat grams--Fr. Capon encourages us to enter into the natural seasons of fasting and feasting that the Church gives us.  Easter and Christmas, for example, are times to feast and really embrace the fruits of the earth in celebration.  At other times, such as Advent and Lent, we are called to abstain from indulgence.  Then there are the "ordinary times" when it's a good idea to stick to general moderation.  It's a helpful reflection for us as we sit poised to enter the fasting season of Lent (as I write this, it is Shrove Tuesday).

Well, armed with Fr. Capon's guidance, I decided to indulge in my own personal "Fat Monday" yesterday.  Leeman and our pal Sam were finally going to check out "The Burger's Priest", a burger joint we'd been hearing much about of late.  They are known for posting their menu on old hymn-boards and using an old confessional screen to divide the ordering from the cooking area. It's an amusing gimmick.

After more than a decade as a vegetarian, I have only recently re-embraced the glory of meat (influenced in no small degree by Fr. Capon's reflections on the matter).  It's still the rare occasion when I feel compelled to consume large quantities of meat. However, I figured this pre-Lenten time was as good an excuse as any, right?  Preempting my ordination by several weeks, I ordered "the priest"...a 1/4 lb cheeseburger, topped with a deep-fried portabella mushroom stuffed with cheese.  Awesome. There is so a time and a place for decadence, even as part of the Christian life!

My reason for writing about this culinary adventure (other than hoping the owners of the joint will come across the post and give me free burgers in exchange for free advertising) is to note that religious theme of the restaurant is actually more than a gimmick.  The place is run by two graduates of Tyndale Seminary, who decided that they had something to offer God rather than just going into conventional church work.  For them, making the best burgers they can is their Christian calling.  The door to their shop states that they are closed Sunday for Church.  And their website has a section dedicated to declaring their faith in the Christian Gospel.  Check out the owner talking about the blending of burgers and faith:

There are two things about the Burger's Priest than can inspire us in our spiritual journeys.  One is that anything worth doing in our lives is worth doing to the honour and glory of God.  These guys recognized they weren't necessarily "called" to be actual priests or pastors.  But they did recognize that God had given them the skills and passion to make ridiculously awesome burgers.  Likewise, we have the potential to serve God by striving to be the best parents, writers, teachers, bankers, doctors, or lawyers we can be.

The other observation is that these guys clearly live up to our charge not to be ashamed of our faith in Jesus Christ (as St. Paul tells us in Romans 1:16).  These burger apostles are not obnoxious proselytizers--my agnostic buddy Sam wasn't called to REPENT before he got his cheeseburger.  But at the same time these guys are honest about who they are and what they are doing.  They let their faith be a natural part of who they are and to infuse their work and their lives.

We are called to fast and pray and pursue works of love in this season of Lent.  A big part of what these spiritual disciplines are about is simply becoming more intensional about how our faith can be part of our everyday lives outside of the church.  If that can happen through a hamburger...surely it can happen in a host of different ways.