Montoya The Theology of Food ~ Eating the Eucharist

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paradigm, I would like to coin the phrase alimentary theology, a theol-
ogy that is more attentive to and welcoming of the multiple layers con-
tained and implied in the making of theology. This is a theology that
not only pays closer attention to matters related to food and nourish-
ment, and the many ways they can relate, inspire, and inform theolo-
gical reflection. Most importantly, it is an envisioning of theology as
nourishment: food as theology and theology as food. Alimentary theol-
ogy is envisioned as food for thought; it addresses some of the spiritual
and physical hungers of the world, and seeks ways of bringing about
nourishment.
For the same reason, alimentary theology envisions theology as a
culinary art that is not only aesthetic, but, further, points to the necessity
of integrating an ethics and politics that question our systems of global
exchange. Theology as food for thought is not a disembodied abstrac-
tion, but a performance that increases awareness of the body, allowing
corporeal and material experience to become a primary source of reflection.
47
Ada Mar�a Isasi-D�az, Burlando al Opresor. Mocking/Tricking the Oppressor:
Dreams and Hopes of Hispanas/Latinas and Mujeristas, Theological Studies, 65/2 (June
2004), 340 63: 346. There is of course, the possibility of reading too much of liberation
and empowerment into the events of Sor Juana s life. As Vanessa Ochs has pointed out to
me, it could have been quite otherwise. There are, however, elements in her life of what
Isasi-D�az calls mocking/tricking the oppressor which could be interpreted as a reac-
tion to marginalization: she dresses as a man to get into school, she writes on matters
related to food and has high regard for cuisine, and so on. To what extent were Sor
Juana s actions instances of empowerment? My guess is that this is a question that can be
answered from different angles. I am inclined toward a more positive reading since food-
ways manage to survive despite colonization (here as the obliteration of culture and
values), as was the case with pre-Colombian cuisine. Such a reading I propose, following
Isasi-D�az, does not undermine the aspect of suffering and struggle either in Sor Juana s
life or in the survival of molli.
30 MAKING MEXICAN MOLLI
This embodied alimentary theology is rooted in a multi-dimensional
vision of the body, incorporating individual, social, political, human,
ecological, cosmic, and divine bodies. As one ultimately learns how to
make a good molli after hours, days, and years of preparation and prac-
tice, so it is with theology practiced as a culinary art that is only learned
in the actual making, a constant process of refining. Like cooking, ali-
mentary theology is a theology in the making: a performance that
involves both contemplation and action. However, alimentary theology,
like a good molli, is not just about the skillful crafting (poiesis) of a gift.
Molli and alimentary theology are gifts to be shared in the form of
nourishment among concrete communities. Like making an intricate
dish, this alimentary theology can be said to be a complex culinary
art : a theological vocation that is simultaneously gift and reception, prep-
aration and sharing, contemplation and consumption, materiality and
transcendence, human and divine.
In what follows, both here and in the rest of this book, I shall explore
the meaning of alimentary theology, its constitutive ingredients, the
implications it calls attention to, and why I consider Mexican molli to
be paradigmatic for envisioning theology as alimentation.
As I have already noted, Mexican molli is the result of many ingredi-
ents, elements, and realities coming together. If theology is seen as a
culinary art, one can also become aware of its analogy to the culinary
extravagance of molli. Theology envisioned as nourishment brings
greater attention to the many converging ingredients and processes
involved in the making of theology: revelation, tradition, faith, history,
cultural background, popular devotional practices, and so forth. In
addition, and similar to the way in which molli is made, this under-
standing of alimentary theology is also aware of the inherent situated-
ness or locality (locus) that contributes to the making of theology; or,
to be more precise, alimentary theology is aware of the many situations
and different localities that play a significant role in the making of
theology.
However, while there might be many ingredients in the making of
both molli and theology, there are some ingredients that predominate
over others. In the making of both molli and alimentary theology not
just anything goes. In molli, for instance, the chilies and the choco-
late are indispensable. Speaking from a Catholic viewpoint, my particu-
lar articulation of this alimentary theology contains two indispensable
elements: the element of God s desire to share divinity with humanity
(through the Creation, time and space, the Incarnation, the cross and
resurrection, the Eucharist, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and so on), and
the believer s desire to unite with God in and through communal
MAKING MEXICAN MOLLI 31
relationships.48 These two desires (divine and human) coming together
play an important role in the making of alimentary theology: they are
the chilies and chocolate of theological practice. This blending of
desires, as in the molli, does not create mere homogeneity, but rather
constructs a milieu of heterogeneous unity. And this unity creates the
love between God and humanity, wherein in the words of Pope Benedict
XVI both remain themselves and yet become fully one. 49
Just as molli is a point of contact between different elements, I argue
that alimentary theology communicates this reality of in-betweenness, a
hybrid discourse of a divine human encounter. It is discursive because it [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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