Kingdom Building
October 21, 2019
Scripture Reading: Joel 2:23-32
You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame.
You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
and that I, the Lord, am your God and there is no other.
And my people shall never again
be put to shame. –Joel 2:26-27
How many of you reading this know there is not enough food in your home to feed your family today? How many of you have children who are on the federal free and reduced cost lunch program at school? How many could not feed your family, if you did not participate in the food stamp program? Hunger in the USA is an out of sight out of mind problem. Many of us can read the above scripture and not identify at all with praising God for the simple fact that we had enough to eat today. Probably many of us are trying to cut down on the amount of food we eat because we have put on a few pounds over the past few months. Is hunger to us a problem only in third world countries?
In 2017, 40 million people struggled with hunger in the United States. The USDA defines “food insecurity” as the lack of access, at times, to enough food for all household members. In 2017, an estimated 15 million households were food insecure. … 1 in 6 American children may not know where their next meal is coming from*.
The Oklahoma City school system got permission from the federal government this year to recognize all its students as food insecure and thus quality for the free and reduced lunch program. Our local food bank has a program where they provide backpacks of food for children to take home from school over the weekend because it was determined that the school lunch program was their primary, if not only, source of food.
The theology of hunger is at the heart of understanding the mindset of the prophetic writings in the Hebrew Bible and the teachings of the one called Jesus who we now know as the Christ. We have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the USA in history. We apparently have many working poor. As followers of Christ, we are called to feed the hungry. That certainly can be done directly through food pantries and governmental programs. The long-term solution is to assure that all who work be paid a living wage.
Prayer: Lord enable us to advocate for ways that all who work can receive a living wage. Amen.
*https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-hunger-us#targetText=In%202017%2C%2040%20million%20people,million%20households%20were%20food%20insecure.&targetText=1%20in%206%20American%20children,next%20meal%20is%20coming%20from.
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.