Making a Difference

2 Corinthians 9:1-10

He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. v. 10

      For Jamie Stark, a lay mission developer in the Bay Area of California, that call to play a role in God’s plan began when he first learned about Holy Communion and the idea of “food as a gateway to God.” Inspired by the work he saw in El Salvador, Jamie moved to the Bay Area and co-founded Farming Hope, a farm-to-table job-training nonprofit organization, which is supported by ELCA World Hunger and the Sierra Pacific Synod of the ELCA. Farming Hope provides transitional employment and job training to unhoused and low- income people in the community. As part of the program, participants learn to farm, grow and cook food — job skills and life skills that can help them earn a living to support themselves and their families. Farming Hope works with hiring partners to hire graduates of the program after they complete it.

      Farming Hope might not look like a church, but as Jamie describes it, “it is a holy place.” It’s a place where relationships are formed, and community is nurtured while basic vocational needs are met. Jamie’s vision of food as a gateway to God and the restoration of relationships that God intends is at the core of Farming Hope’s work. “When I sit at the table at Farming Hope’s restaurant in San Francisco (Manny’s), if I open my eyes,  I see communion exactly as Jesus of Nazareth intended it to be — friends, eating intentionally … we’re all welcome.” For Jamie, seeing Holy Communion for what it was — a table at which all are welcome — and being inspired by the work he witnessed in El Salvador fostered hope that, by focusing on relationships built through food, Farming Hope could create opportunities for both jobs and community in San Francisco.  –ELCA World Hunger Appeal

PRAY:  God of all creation, we pray for aid workers in refugee camps, for directors of development across the world, for workers in storm ravaged areas, and for all who seek the welfare of those in need.  Help them to see all that they do as your work done human hands. Amen.

FAST:  From self-satisfaction for the abundance in your life.

ACT:  Set aside a box of dry cereal for a local food pantry

            OR set aside $1 to give to the ELCA World Hunger Appeal.

Hosting the Hungry

Matthew 12:1-2

At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.  v. 1

“These people are our guests!”

    I once took a group of young people from our suburban congregation to help at an inner-city Milwaukee church.  We helped prepare and serve a Saturday noon meal.  We made soup and sandwiches from lunch meat that had passed the “sell by” date. 

     Before we served, the priest sat down with us and shared some wise words.  He reminded us that the people about to enter that church basement were our guests.  Yes, some were homeless, some were dirty, some were on drugs, some abused alcohol, some  had mental health issues.  But for this meal, they were our guests.  As we served them, as we brought around coffee and milk, we were told to address each person as “sir” or ‘madam.”  

      He informed us that we should not only serve, but also take our place at the table with them.  We shouldn’t just find our own table and sit with each other, but we should sit with our guests and attempt to engage them in conversation.  Most guests didn’t engage.  They greedily ate the meal, then got up and left.  As we sat down, however, we realized that we had a shared humanity with our guests.  We weren’t superior them.  We had the same needs for daily bread.

      The priest also explained that this lunch was a holy meal.  God was present just as much in that meal as present in our celebrations of Holy Communion, or the holiday feasts in our homes.  We were not just throwing scraps to the dogs, but we were doing God’s holy work of providing for those whom God loved so dearly.  The soup and sandwich became a sign of God’s presence and resurrection as the shadow of the cross lay across that crowded basement.

PRAY:  God of all creation, we ask your blessing on all who put the food on our tables:  growers, truckers, millers, meat packers, grocers, cooks, food inspectors, waiters.  Make us grateful for their work that involves long hours and low pay. Help them to see their work as ministry. Amen.

FAST:  By eliminating meat for one day.

ACT:  Set aside a can of fruit for a local food pantry 

OR set aside $1 to give to the ELCA World Hunger Appeal.

Not just bread

Matthew 4:1-11

“One does not live by bread alone…”  Mt 4:4

       Today’s gospel reading from the Revised Common Lectionary depicts the temptations God’s Adversary puts in front of Jesus.  The first of them is to satisfy his hunger in a miraculous way by turning stones into bread.  Jesus response is a reminder that life is more than satisfying physical needs.  

        We live in a time where satisfying physical needs does seem to be what life is about.  The amassing of wealth, the over-abundance of food on our plates, the desire to accumulate more and more “stuff”, indicates our vision of what real life is about.  We live with fear that we will not have enough, and not having enough somehow diminishes our humanity and personhood. 

        Jesus counsels living by “…every word that comes from the mouth of God.”  The Hebrew Bible kept alive that word spoken through the centuries.  That word expressed  concern for the poor, for the widow, for the orphan, for the stranger.  That word spoke both justice and mercy.  That word proclaimed again and again God’s steadfast love for all that God had made.  That word reminded God’s people that their identity as the people of God had a greater importance than constantly full stomachs.

        Jesus’ words don’t negate the necessity of food for our bodies or the bodies of others.  Those words instead awaken us to the needs of all those whom God has claimed as God’s own.  In the garden of Eden  story, God’s word to Adam and Eve was to join God in caring for and providing for the good creation.  Part of that care is making sure that all have bread.

PRAY:  Lord God, in the light of the resurrection we see the needs of all people especially those who are hungry, our brothers and sisters, members with us of the human family.  When the devil tempts us to live for ourselves alone, keep us in your word that offers life to all.  Amen.

FAST:  By refusing second helpings today.

ACT:  Set aside canned meat for a local food pantry 

OR set aside $1 to give to the ELCA World Hunger Appeal.

Unending Supply

1 Kings 17:8-16

The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail.  v. 16

       Elijah prophesied a drought in the land of Israel.  When his prophesy came true, he became persona non grata in the kingdom of Ahab. Elijah escaped and hid in a cave near some water.  When the water gave out, he was forced to return to civilization in Zarephath. There he met a widow who was about to prepare a last meal for her son and herself.  They had lost all hope.

   Elijah asks this hopeless widow to also feed him.  He promises that God is good and will provide if she will be generous with the little that she has.  She does as he asks. Subsequently her flour and oil don’t run out until the drought and famine ends.

     Two miracles occur here.  The simplest may be the unending supply of flour and oil.   The more complex may indeed be the trust the widow puts in the stranger, Elijah.  She trusts him enough to honor his need.

     Through whom does God speak today?  Who are the prophets asking that we respond to God’s promises and to the human need for food?  Can we still the voice that pleads scarcity and believe God will provide enough?  In the shadow of the cross, can we bring the light of the resurrection of God’s unending goodness?

PRAY:  God of all creation, even some of our neighbors go hungry.  Bless those who administer food programs like Food Stamps, WIC, food pantries, free school breakfasts and lunches and sacks of food for families with children.  May we find joy in caring for each other.  Amen.

FAST:  Skip one meal today in solidarity with those who are hungry.

ACT:  Set aside canned meat for a local food pantry 

OR set aside $1 to give to the ELCA World Hunger Appeal.

Food in the Wilderness

Exodus 16:9-31

The house of Israel called it manna; it was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers with honey.  v. 31

    Life doesn’t run smoothly when the ex-slaves from Egypt find themselves wandering in the Sinai Desert.  The journey is a logistical nightmare.  Hungry, thirsty people complain long and loudly.

    The God who provides, protects, and preserves God’s own hears their complaints and responds.  Flocks of quail come in the evening, and this dew like substance, manna, covers the ground in the morning.

     It’s a free lunch with only one condition:  that each family gather only enough for the day except on the 6^th day when they would gather enough for the 6^th day and the 7^th or Sabbath day. Otherwise if they tried to put away some for the next day (to hoard it) the manna would spoil

     Today we pray as Jesus taught us, “Give us today our daily bread.”  As we travel through our own wilderness, God promises food for the journey, enough for the day with promises of enough for tomorrow. 

     We still have trouble believing those promises.   We gather more than we need and find ourselves with more than we can consume and so end up having it spoil.  Up to 40% of the food we produce is thrown away.  Perhaps part of our Lenten discipline could be to walk more mindfully through the grocery store.

     We walk day by day in the shadow of the cross that lies across all of life.  We inhabit mortal bodies that require food to survive and thrive.  God provides even in wilderness days what we and all humanity needs. 

Friday

Friday

Pray:  God of all creation, you nourish us with an amazing abundance and variety of food for our bodies.   We pray for all who till the soil and who take their chances with seeds planted in the soil.  Bless those who farm the earth.  Amen.

Fast:  By eating one simple meal of rice and beans.

Act:  Set aside a jar or can such as pasta sauce for a local food pantry 

OR  set aside $1 to give to the ELCA World Hunger Appeal.

I was hungry…

God’s Gift of Food

Genesis 1:26-31 

God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth; and every tree with seed in its fruit, you shall have them for food.”  v. 29 

       My daughter works for the local school district teaching elementary children about plants and helping them work in school gardens.  Often the students are surprised to discover that the food they eat grows in the ground.  They often only know that it comes off the shelf.  They don’t know the everyday miracle of seed, soil, sun and rain that produces the carrot, the apple, the lettuce, or the beans that they eat.  As adults also see  plants poke through the ground and grow without any help from us.  For us, too, the growth of vegetation seems one of God’s miracles. 

       In the creation story in Genesis 1, we find God creating human life and then desiring to preserve, protect and provide for that life.  The Genesis writer pictures Adam and Eve in a garden of abundance, of plenty.   This is God’s intention to provide an abundance for those whom God has lovingly created.  

      Earth is under duress with climate change that produces drought in once productive areas, but also produces too much moisture in others.  This disruption is a real concern.  Despite those changing conditions, the truth is that in our world there is still an abundance of food.  The earth produces enough food so that no one should go hungry.  Our refrigerators and cupboards are full, and it is said that we throw away 40% of what we grow in this great country. 

       I would guess that fewer people pray before meals than once did.  Of course, the food tastes the same whether we ask God’s blessing or note.  When we do repeat a table prayer, however, we find ourselves remembering where our food comes from and that it ultimately comes to us from the maker of heaven and earth. 

PRAY:  God of all creation, you water the earth and provide the sun to shine, and yet droughts make it impossible for many to provide food for themselves.  May we join in providing food for the hungry across the world.  Amen.

FAST:  From eating bananas grown by people without enough to eat.

ACT:  Set aside a jar or can of peanut butter for a local food pantry 

OR  set aside $1 to give to the ELCA World Hunger Appeal.

 

Isaiah 58:1-12 

Is not this the fast that I choose; to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke.  v.6 

     Ash Wednesday begins our days of preparation for the events of Holy Week and Easter.  We begin the season by marking our foreheads with ashes as a reminder of our mortality:  from dust we came, and to dust we shall return.  We lay bare our human imperfections, especially the human desire to play God in our world.  We come to acknowledge the temporary character of our earthly life. 

    But this is also a time for us to acknowledge that God gives us a mission for the days that lie between the two dates on our tombstone.  We do have purpose for our living.  God is at work in the world that God loves so dearly, and God delightfully invites all of us to join God’s work of creating, preserving, protecting, providing and redeeming this world God declares as “good.”   

    The disciplines of Lent invite us into that work through prayer, fasting, and acts of charity.  Prayer and fasting help us remember that this is God’s work and not our own.  As we communicate with God and give up something in our lives, we become more mindful of God’s purposes for us.  Acts of charity, working to enhance the lives of other people, puts us in touch with our own mortality.  Someone has said that funeral coaches don’t have trailer hitches.  We “can’t take it with us.”  We can, however, have the joy of sharing in this life.  We find when we do, that we receive much in return:  satisfaction, joy, connection with others, and become part of a loving community.  Today is the day to offer our imperfect, sometimes immoral and always mortal lives to the moral and immortal purposes of God.  May these days of Lent be days of blessing and commitment to the disciplines of Lent and the “least of these” whom God loves so dearly. 

PRAY: Lord of life, as we enter into the shadow of the cross, we praise you for your ongoing and unending love. We thank you for reconciling us to you through that cross.
We ask you to send your Spirit so that as we number our days and walk with Jesus in Lent that you would daily work in us the disciplines of prayer, fasting, and acting toward those who are ‘the least of these.” Constantly surprise us as you show up in them. Amen.

FAST: From those things which keep us from remembering we are mortal.

ACT: Engage in the disciplines of Lent, namely, prayer, fasting and acts of love.. 

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.