Tag Archives: Hunger

Fairness

Advent
December 17, 2018

Scripture Reading: Luke 3:7-18

And the crowds asked him, ‘What then should we do?’ In reply he said to them, ‘Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.’ Even tax-collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, ‘Teacher, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.’ Soldiers also asked him, ‘And we, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.’ –Luke 3:10-14

John the Baptist seems to be dealing with two types of help. The first is meeting immediate needs no matter what. If we have more than is necessary, we need to share extra coats and food with those who have none. The second expresses an ethical level of doing business. We are to treat people fairly by not overcharging or extorting money falsely for our own gain rather than being satisfied with the wages we make. Tax collectors collected whatever they could apparently if they gave Rome what Rome required.

Schools learned some time ago that students who were hungry could not learn. The school lunch program was expanded to include breakfast for that very reason. I heard on the news recently that our school system is offering dinner after school because for many of our students the school is the only sure place they will be fed. Volunteers from my church fill backpacks with food at a local elementary school each Friday to send home with some children who likely have no dependable source of food at home.

Areas of high poverty have limited healthy food and make a profit selling unhealthy food.

Food deserts are defined as parts of the country vapid of fresh fruit, vegetables, and other healthful whole foods, usually found in impoverished areas. This is largely due to a lack of grocery stores, farmers’ markets, and healthy food providers.

 This has become a big problem because while food deserts are often short on whole food providers, especially fresh fruits and vegetables, instead, they are heavy on local quickie marts that provide a wealth of processed, sugar, and fat laden foods that are known contributors to our nation’s obesity epidemic.*

John was most likely identifying the first century equivalent of food deserts among the people to whom he preached. His advice remains pertinent to us today as we live in a world where the rich get richer as poverty increases.

There are many issues that must be addressed between meeting basic needs and ethical business practices like offering quality public education to all and restorative criminal justice. John describes a good start toward a more equitable society that reflects God’s love for all God’s children.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we close our eyes to the hungry and ignore the business inequities of poverty. Amen.

*http://americannutritionassociation.org/newsletter/usda-defines-food-deserts

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

The Measure of Wellbeing

Hungry ChildEastertide
April 29, 2015

Scripture Reading: Psalm 22:25-31

From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
   my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
   those who seek him shall praise the Lord.
   May your hearts live for ever! –Psalm 22:25-26

It is a theme that runs throughout the Bible: the wellbeing of God’s people is measured by whether the poor have enough to eat. One would assume that those of us who profess to follow the one true God would hold the wellbeing of his people as one of our highest priorities. The reality of the situation is that we have made a dent in world hunger but there is much left to do.

Bread for the World reports that:
Worldwide, the number of hungry people has dropped significantly over the past two decades, but 805 million people continue to struggle with hunger every day.

  • 1.2 billion people still live in extreme poverty — on less than $1.25 per day.
  • Each year, 2.6 million children die as a result of hunger-related causes.
  • But progress has been made. There has been a reduction of more than 34 percent in global hunger since 1990.
  • The target of halving the percentage of people suffering from hunger by 2015 is possible.
  • However, there are still an estimated 868 million people who are undernourished and more than 100 million children under age five who are undernourished and underweight.*

While all our efforts at meeting both world hunger and hunger right here at home must continue until all are fed, it is important that we attack the root causes of hunger. The biggest is most likely inequities in our economic systems including a living wage for all and equal pay for equal work. We now have several years of evidence that the richer getting richer does not address the needs of the low income. In fact, more people are getting poorer as our middle class shrinks.

Prayer: Lord, reorder our lives so that greed does not supplant wellbeing as our primary life focus. Help us develop and implement economic systems that offer the opportunity for all to thrive. Amen.

*http://www.bread.org/hunger/global/

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.