Our trivia question for this week is, “What did people use before napkins?”
According to historyfacts. com, the ancient Greeks used a dry edible soft dough called “apomagdalia.” It was the soft bread inside the crust and was used to clean their hands and faces. Then, after cleaning up, the “apomagdalia” was fed to the dogs.
At large banquets, the host would sometimes circulate towels and water, and much later, the Romans used a “mappa” or large cloth draped over the body. And some guests would bring their own “mappa” and fill it with food to take home.
The first paper napkins were used in ancient China in the second century, but the word “napkin” comes from the French word “nappe,” meaning tablecloth. “Kin” was added to say it was a “very small tablecloth.”
After both eating and sinning, we need to clean up!
So, let’s talk about three words in Romans.
“Sin came into the world through one man, and his sin brought death with it. As a result, death has spread to the whole human race because everyone has sinned.”
— Romans 5: 12
The first word “sin” is the transgression of God’s law and when one man, Adam, sinned, he gave birth to our sinful nature. We, as descendants of Adam, inherit his sinful nature, as did Cain who killed Abel ... and Moses who killed the Egyptian ... and David who stole Uriah’s wife Bathsheba and then killed Uriah to cover it up.
The second word “salvation” sets us free from the penalty of sin through the sacrifice of one man, Jesus Christ, who sacrificed himself to “put us right with God!” Salvation won’t remove our sin nature, but it declares us to be “not guilty” of our sin.
“It is true that through the sin of one man, death began to rule because of that one man. But how much greater is the result of what was done by the one man, Jesus Christ! All who receive God's abundant grace and are freely put right with him will rule in life through Christ.”
— Romans 5: 17
And finally, the third word “sanctification” sets us free from the power of sin. It sets us free from our sinful nature as we grow and mature in our Christian faith. Jesus’ last words to almost everybody he met were, “Go ... and sin no more!”
“ So then, just as sin ruled by means of death, so also God’s grace rules by means of righteousness, leading us to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
— Romans 5: 21
We’ll never forget eating at a “period restaurant” in Colonial Williamsburg with our two grandsons when the waitress gave all four of us a “mappa.” It was a very large tablecloth tied at the neck and draped over our bodies. Apparently, they thought we might make a mess.
As sinners who’ve made a mess of our lives, we need a very large “nappe-kin;” we need a “spiritual mappa.” At least I do!
Charles “Buddy” Whatley is a retired United Methodist pastor serving Dawson Street Methodist Church in Thomasville, Ga. With wife, Mary Ella, they are missionaries to the Navajo Reservation.
