Sermon On Anchovy Toast

Iris Murdoch, an Irish-British novelist and philosopher once remarked: “For lunch, I may say, I ate and greatly enjoyed the following: anchovy paste on hot buttered toast, then baked beans and kidney beans with chopped celery, tomatoes, lemon juice and olive oil. (Really good olive oil is essential, the kind with a taste, I have brought a supply from London.) Green peppers would have been a happy addition only the village shop (about two miles pleasant walk) could not provide them. (No one delivers to far-off Shruff End, so I fetch everything, including milk, from the village.)

Then bananas and cream with white sugar. (Bananas should be cut, never mashed, and the cream should be thin.) Then hard water-biscuits with New Zealand butter and Wensleydale cheese. Of course I never touch foreign cheeses.” Leviticus 11:9-12 reminds us: “These you may eat, of all that are in the waters. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat. But anything in the seas or the rivers that does not have fins and scales, of the swarming creatures in the waters and of the living creatures that are in the waters, is detestable to you. You shall regard them as detestable; you shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall detest their carcasses. Everything in the waters that does not have fins and scales is detestable to you.”

During the Victorian and Edwardian eras in the United Kingdom, the delicacy and brine of anchovy toast was considered a popular appetizer, often favored by the rich or noble. An anchovy is defined as a small foraging and shoaling fish with fins and scales of commercial importance either as a food fish, or bait. It is strongly flavored and is usually preserved in salt and oil. Their usual habitat is in marine waters, but some may venture into brackish water with more salinity, to experience the scope of a more natural environment.

Many varieties of “clean” fish have always been considered as food and nourishment to replenish and satisfy the hunger of mankind. Psalm 74:12-14 reminds us: “Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters. You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.”

The notable and miraculous story of Jesus feeding the five thousand in the Bible could resemble a similar sample to the delights of anchovy toast, but on a much larger scale, as it also incorporates the essential items of fish and bread, but in the hands and power of God. John 6:1-14 reminds us: “After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.”

One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”

Anchovies are considered by many as an acquired taste, but can be beneficial to health. The general preference is to balance them with other ingredients when eaten, as they are extremely salty, savory and pungent in nature. In truth, they can become an overwhelming prospect to the uninitiated when consumed alone, and may require the frugality of meagreness to appreciate their true worth. However, they can enhance a meal with the subtle tastes and delights of the unknown and create a blissful feeding experience in life.