14th May, 2006

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

One of the pleasures of living in Paris is that there are so many wonderful places to eat, and such a great choice of menu, of price, and of location. It would probably be difficult to find a city anywhere to beat it for dining out. But Ireland has the beating of it in one respect, and I’m not being prejudiced here – as if I would! For the last few years there has been a total ban on smoking in places where food or drink is being served. This has led to improved appreciation of the aromatic dimension of the cuisine, and a lot less coughing and spluttering. The joke now is that people go into the pubs from the street in order to get some fresh air!

Prior to the ban we had the same situation as now pertains in Paris. One goes into a restaurant, to be welcomed at the door by a very solicitous member of staff who enquires as to whether you would prefer ‘smoking or non-smoking’. My instinct is to reply ‘are you joking?’, but as I don’t want to risk offending staff before I get some food, I in fact reply ‘non-smoking’. Why I bother, I don’t know, because as often as not I end up at a table six inches away from the so-called smoking area, where there will inevitably be someone who lights up between every course. And in order not to impose on the rest of the people at their own table, the smoker will insist on blowing his/her smoke away from their table and directly at mine.

But, as they say in Dublin, “c’est la vie”. I’m sure France will eventually catch up with Ireland! But while I’m waiting for that day, I dream hopefully of one day going into a restaurant, and instead of them asking me ‘smoking or non-smoking’ they ask me ‘dog or non-dog’! On a couple of occasions relatively recently I’ve been in establishments where my meal was accompanied by frequent growls on one occasion, and non-stop yapping on the other. In all honesty I don’t think it really helped the digestion of any of the diners. Many were constantly glancing around, and were clearly wondering if they were shortly going to be involved in a role reversal – were the eaters to be eaten?

Such a radical transformation mightn’t be desirable in a restaurant, but in our first reading today we have people doubting that such radical transformations are even possible. Could Paul, an extremist persecutor of the early disciples, really become a disciple himself, and be prepared to face persecution in the name of Christ? Could the hunter become the hunted? And, of course, he very quickly did, and had to be spirited away to safety.

For the most part we’re not asked to make such radical changes in our lives, but a little bit of pruning here and there, as the gospel reminds us, would help us to be more fruitful. Getting rid of some of the distractions, and concentrating on essentials, we’re told, is the best way to ensure that the Risen Life flows from Jesus the Vine, to us, the branches. It may involve sacrifices and will prove painful at times, as pruning must no doubt be to a plant, but the rewards are worth it.

By the way, when a French dog takes a bite out of you, does it wash it down with wine? Is there such a thing as the ‘kennel’ wine?