Weekly Reflection - 10/17/24
St. Mary’s Reflection: Natalie Hala, Parish Liturgist
Babette’s Feast of Abundance
Reimagined version of Babette’s entrée: Cailles en Sarcophage
Take. Eat. These two simple, yet profound verbs that are part of every Eucharistic Prayer invite us to “re-member” (literally, “put back together again”) and take a leap of faith through sacred portals into the waiting abundance of the Divine and savor the Feast.
Reflecting upon the word abundance, a major theme of this year’s St. Mary’s stewardship season, I recalled a teaching lesson by one of my spiritual mentors who used as an example of causality theory the Isak Dinesen short story (later to become an award-winning movie by the same name), “Babette’s Feast.”
If you are unfamiliar with the story line, Babette’s Feast is a tale of two sisters who lead a spartan life centered around their father, a devout French Christian missionary, and his shrinking congregation in an isolated Danish village during the late 1800’s. As the story progresses and after the father has died, the daughters take in a French refugee, Babette, as housekeeper who ultimately wins the lottery. In recognition of her gratis room and board, Babette shows her appreciation for their kindness to the sisters by spending every sou of her lottery winnings to masterfully plan, prepare, and serve an extraordinary French meal for the sisters and their church friends in honor of the 100th anniversary of their father’s birth.
Like any timeless work of art, Babette’s Feast lends itself to various interpretations of its deeper meaning. Here’s how my mentor views it: Babette quietly observed and reflected on the patterns of village life that surrounded her, she peered deep into her own heart and realized what was root cause of the spiritual malaise. The bickering, dispirited congregation were really starving for just one memorable experience of unconditional abundance and love. Babette realized that it would not be until that visceral hunger was satisfied that they would be able to digest the spiritual teachings they professed to believe in.
During the meal’s preparation, Babette, like any experienced cook, does some imaginative reshuffling of the ingredients and, miraculously, some missing ingredients were at hand. Her labor of love bore succulent results, richly satisfying once the hesitant guests allowed themselves to dig in to the bounty on their plates. Laughter was shared. Old grudges forgotten. Friendships forged. Unity and love took a seat at the dining table.
Abundance was the missing spiritual nutrient that propelled Babette to create her gift of this lavish, scrumptious banquet. Any other former urge to offset the villager’s negativity through sermonizing or moral exhortations was replaced by a compassionate gesture supplying the missing spiritual ingredient. Simply put, when one receives abundantly and unconditionally, one gains the potential to “re-member” and to be open to the abundance of God’s gifts and the unwavering love within.
In this stewardship season, St. Mary’s offers multiple opportunities for your God-given gifts to reverberate. Your gift is a nutrient, the missing ingredient, that has the capacity to fill a void in our broader community.
Take. Eat. And then joyfully give back. Join in the Divine’s reciprocal dance of abundance.
Natalie Hala,
Parish Liturgist
