Volume 29, No. 3
January 18, 2004
Pop Theology
Popcorn sales are exploding!
Thanks to the microwave oven and the continuing popularity of videotapes and
DVDs, the average North American now eats about 70 quarts a year, two-thirds of
it at home and the rest at movies and sports events. The low-cal corn has been
a snack food fixture for 7,000 years.
Among ancient native peoples, it was widely believed a tiny demon lived in
each kernel of corn and that, when the demon’s house was heated, he became so
angry he exploded. Popping corn was first shared with European settlers during
the original Thanksgiving feast in 1621. Next morning, the Pilgrims had the
leftovers with milk and sugar, unaware they’d eaten the very first puffed
breakfast cereal!
Years later, scientists came to realize that, when a kernel's hard shell
dries, microscopic droplets of water are sealed inside. But if the kernel is
heated past 212 degrees Fahrenheit, the water within boils and turns to steam,
creating internal pressure that eventually makes the shell explode. The kernel
literally turns inside out as the soft, white interior breaks out.
When a popcorn machine was invented in 1885, street vendors were suddenly
everywhere. Those machines began squirting melted butter on the popcorn in 1918
and the vendors started parking outside movie houses to catch the people going
in. Before long, the theatre owners began selling their own popcorn and, even
today, it accounts for 35 percent of everything sold at the snack bar.
Whereas early popcorn was only 20 times the size of the original kernel, the
King of Popcorn, Orville Redenbacher, increased the
fluffiness to 40 percent. The next big innovation came in 1982 when the
Pillsbury company invented microwave popcorn. The following year, Redenbacher
found a way to make the product “shelf stable”, meaning it would keep for at
least seven months. That’s when sales really started to heat up, and there’s no
sign things will change anytime soon.
Now think of each Christian as a kernel. In Ecclesiastes 3:11, Solomon says
God “has planted eternity in the human heart”, instilling in each of us what
seems to be a relentless restlessness that points us back to the spiritual. No
matter how much we dry out and harden up, the eternal within the kernel never
disappears, and the more we try to mask or ignore our spiritual centre, the
worse it gets. That’s why, when life heats up, the internal tension often
becomes a catalyst for incredible change. The Living Water deep within works in
a mighty way to change our hearts from the inside out as the power of God bursts
forth in our lives.
That’s not to say we all don’t have our demons. But having once been so much
at home in our hearts, they’re cast out when the Holy Spirit begins to work from
the inside and his love breaks through the tough shell that, until then, keeps
us from becoming tender and transformed. Even so, that’s just the beginning.
Solomon goes on to say “we cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from
beginning to end.” Nor do we need to, because He’s in control. “I know
everything God does will last forever,” he says. “Nothing can be added to it,
and nothing taken from it. This is so people will revere him.” (v. 14)
Once we honour and elevate God, letting his love open us up, we become part
of his eternal plan. We may not fully understand what He’s doing in our lives,
or see any significance in our meagre service, but we can rest secure knowing
that nothing we do is in vain if we’re doing it for him. Besides, results are
not our responsibility.
Our role is to be responsive; to be kernels of truth and righteousness in a
cold, corrupted world. God will cover us with the warm, golden elixir of his
love, and give that love a shelf life that will last through eternity. Those
hungering for something to fill their emptiness inside will eat it up.
By Rick Gamble, published in Cross Current, the weekly newsletter of the
Followers of Christ congregation in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. Reprint at will
in not-for-profit publications. To subscribe, contact
sgamble@bfree.on.ca