The Fat Factor
Stories
Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit
Series IV Cycle C
Camryn Manheim is an actor, best known for her role as the no-nonsense, take-no-prisoners, Eleanor Frutt on The Practice. The woman knows how to act. She's won Emmys, and has studied in the most prestigious acting schools in America.
She is also a very large woman. And, since everyone seems to notice that about her, she's written a book, Wake Up -- I'm Fat! in defense of fat people everywhere. Fatophiles regard her liberating work as a sign that Americans, once pathologically fat-phobic are now becoming fat-friendly.
Granted, this change may be due to the fact that 61 percent of American adults are now overweight, up from 45 percent some twenty years ago. What's more, children are following in their parents' heavier footsteps. One out of eight school-aged kids is obese, twice the fraction of two decades ago.
There are plenty of fat Christians, too, and that's why there are a fair number of distinctly Christian weight-loss programs. Some write, "Jesus diet for my sins," on their refrigerator, or try to shave some poundage by signing up for The 14-Day Beauty Boot Camp Diet, The Miniskirt-Is-Back Workout, or the Fat Flush Diet.
We know that fat is not ugly. Fat is beautiful. Like Shallow Hal, we Christians are able to look beyond the outward appearance to the inner beauty. But fat people are now saying that both the outward frame as well as the inward spirit are beautiful. The Renaissance painters Rubens and Titian had no time for anorexics. Cleopatra was a chunk: at five feet tall and 150 pounds, she could've been the first spokesperson for size acceptance.
Moreover, scientists are now telling us that fat, far from being inherently harmful to the human body, is rather a source of ongoing surprise. Fat cells, we now know, can be used as a source for the very important medical applications of stem cell therapy. Fat cells also generate over 25 hormones critical to a variety of bodily functions. It makes you want to check your daily quota of Essential Fatty Acids (EFA).
Still, you don't see many fat people toeing the starting blocks for the 100-yard dash, or the mile at the Olympics. As healthy as fat may be, and as gracious and understanding as we may be to fat people everywhere, even the writer of Hebrews understood that if you're going to run a race, it's best to lay aside as many impediments as possible.
She is also a very large woman. And, since everyone seems to notice that about her, she's written a book, Wake Up -- I'm Fat! in defense of fat people everywhere. Fatophiles regard her liberating work as a sign that Americans, once pathologically fat-phobic are now becoming fat-friendly.
Granted, this change may be due to the fact that 61 percent of American adults are now overweight, up from 45 percent some twenty years ago. What's more, children are following in their parents' heavier footsteps. One out of eight school-aged kids is obese, twice the fraction of two decades ago.
There are plenty of fat Christians, too, and that's why there are a fair number of distinctly Christian weight-loss programs. Some write, "Jesus diet for my sins," on their refrigerator, or try to shave some poundage by signing up for The 14-Day Beauty Boot Camp Diet, The Miniskirt-Is-Back Workout, or the Fat Flush Diet.
We know that fat is not ugly. Fat is beautiful. Like Shallow Hal, we Christians are able to look beyond the outward appearance to the inner beauty. But fat people are now saying that both the outward frame as well as the inward spirit are beautiful. The Renaissance painters Rubens and Titian had no time for anorexics. Cleopatra was a chunk: at five feet tall and 150 pounds, she could've been the first spokesperson for size acceptance.
Moreover, scientists are now telling us that fat, far from being inherently harmful to the human body, is rather a source of ongoing surprise. Fat cells, we now know, can be used as a source for the very important medical applications of stem cell therapy. Fat cells also generate over 25 hormones critical to a variety of bodily functions. It makes you want to check your daily quota of Essential Fatty Acids (EFA).
Still, you don't see many fat people toeing the starting blocks for the 100-yard dash, or the mile at the Olympics. As healthy as fat may be, and as gracious and understanding as we may be to fat people everywhere, even the writer of Hebrews understood that if you're going to run a race, it's best to lay aside as many impediments as possible.
