On the Bible and Korean Cooking Shows; A Poem
- Laura Kim
- Mar 7
- 1 min read
While watching a Korean cooking show, I was struck by the deeply intentional design of the multi-course meals that were served. Each dish added to and complemented the meal and brought the needed freshness, savoriness, or sweetness. Each dish was thoughfully ordered to draw attention to the main course, which held the meal together and gave it an axis.
The thought followed that the Bible is that way. It's not a bunch of individual, unrelated dishes piled on a table without design. It's a menu planned by a genius, designed to highlight Jesus. So here's a poem about the Bible inspired by a Korean cooking show!
FEAST
Your Word is a feast.
Courses and flavors in multiple layers
Brought to the table over generations
Carefully crafted around the main course
The Lamb
Who said "Savor my body in tender rememberance
and wash it down with my blood."
And as the taste lingers on our palettes
We hear there's more to come
Dessert
Sweet like honey on our tongues
A triumph, victorious
With underlying notes from the nations
Playing music in our mouths
As we sip wine from cups overflowing
Full to the brim
Listening to the hum of a living river
Aglow in glory
I love the comparison of the meal with the Bible as it highlights the central figure - Christ. It's one of the great challenges of Scripture, and especially the Old Testament, to read it not as a series of "unrelated dishes," but to seek for threads of Christ and his plan of redemption that run throughout. We can spend a lifetime reading it and still find new delights.