Americans are obsessed with food. Don’t you think so?

There is MacDonald’s (“I’m Lovin it”), Burger King (“Have it Your Way”), Wendy’s (“Where’s the Beef”), KFC (“Finger Lickin Good”), Pepsi (“When you’re young, say, ‘Pepsi Please’”), Coke (“It’s the real thing”) or, from the past, “the pause that pleases,” Alka-Seltzer. Remember that one? “I can't believe I ate the whole thing” followed by, “Plop plop fizz fizz, oh what a relief it is.”

How about the infamous “good to the last drop” from Maxwell House coffee and it goes on and on from there.

Of course, there are slogans for everything, but let’s just focus on food today.

One of my favorite shows on TV is called “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.” The host whose name is Guy Fieri and always has his glasses on backwards with his black hair spiked and dyed blond, drives around in his red Camaro to various places across the country.

And they are literally diners, drive-ins and some very divey dives. But the food they cook up is mighty yummy looking, tasting excellent (at least according to Guy), but for the most part, off my diet. I find it best to have already eaten dinner before I watch this show as I will invariably eat too much otherwise.

And then there are the travel channels shows, the top ten B-B-Q joints, the top ten steakhouses, top 10 breakfasts joints, top ten ice cream shops, the top ten pig-out places, and it goes on and on.

And did you ever notice that during these shows we are bombarded with advertisements on how to lose weight. The Ab Cruncher, the Nautilus, the elliptical machines, the this, the that. And of course, the pills, all guaranteed to help you lose weight or they will give you your money back.

And all with the same tagline “but wait” if you act right now we’ll double your order. And we go to these extremes believing we can eat to our heart’s content and the pills will take of the rest.

But none of these places can advertise the reality of a single man feeding in excess of 5,000 people with five small rolls of bread and 2 small fishes. “The food that multiples” might be the right slogan for this miracle.

“Are you kidding me, just buy five loaves and two small fishes and you are fed for life.”

If we could just see the disciples’ faces as Jesus keeps reaching in to the basket and out comes more and more fresh bread and then pulling apart two small fishes which seem to grow back together again. I think they would be more than just amazed, maybe asking, “How are you doing that man?”

Little by little they were all learning that this was no ordinary man. Not only could he teach like no one they had ever seen before, but he could also calm storms, feed thousands with nothing more than a meal made for two, turn water to wine, bring people back to life, heal terminal diseases, die a horrible death to save everyone who believes, rise again three days later to give us eternity, and so on.

And yet even to the end the disciples would say, “Who is this guy anyway?”

They struggled with Jesus’ identity. I find it ironic though that the demons all knew who Jesus was … He was God and they knew the consequences. That leads us to the question, “Do we really know who Jesus is? Do we even want to know?”

At First Lutheran Church we share the good news of this man named Jesus … the bread of life.

Please join us on Sundays for Bible study at 9:30 a.m., worship at 11 a.m. and a time for lunch and fellowship immediately following worship.

All people are welcome so please come as you are for study, worship and food.

Don’t forget the special country gospel service on July 29.

Chris DelCol is pastor of First Lutheran Church in Lucerne, Calif. The church is located at 3863 Country Club Drive, telephone 707-274-5572. Email Pastor Chris at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..