PRAYING FOR THE HUNGRY HUNGRY

While I am not prone to headaches, I have had one twice this week. I think the change in diet may well be a part of that. I just returned from the Knights of Columbus Hall where they had a wonderful beef stew and a beef and barley soup for lunch….I brought a tuna sandwich and a can of tomato soup. It was a great birthday celebration as well for Mary who turned 94 today and for Catherinanne who will be less than 94 on Friday. So there was a wonderful cake….I said no thank you…more than once as there are many to temp me!

I always enjoy lunch at the K of C. I take it for granted in fact. They also serve many of my favourite beverages at the K of C Hall… I had water and tea instead. (Thanks LG for offering the double at the bar but I will take a rain check)  Catherinanne had the stew and ordered soup to go for dinner tonight. She will enjoy the nice beef soup while I have spaghetti with pasta sauce and maybe the can of chicken. She also had me pay for it and deliver it home for her with the wonderful aroma in my car…nice! I am pretty much out of snack foods, so I can only eat what is canned etc now for meals so from now till Friday will get very interesting for sure.

The more I consider the fact that I know that this journey has a finite end the more upset I get. I will go back to good food on Friday but others do not have that choice. My heart sinks when I think of that. I have only been on this diet for three days and I am so anxious for Friday to come so that I might have a piece of fruit or a nice green vegetable. How depressed would I be if I saw no end of this or no way out – no way for things to get better.

Many of you have been responding on my Revy Kevy’s Corner and on Facebook that you are picking up better items for the food-bank given what you have read here – THANK YOU! Many of you have already expressed that you are going to work to make others more aware – THANK YOU! Many of you have already expressed that you will be writing you MPP to call for more action – THANK YOU! Many of you have already noted that you have been praying at meal time for those who are hungry and have prayed that we might be more alert to their needs – THANK YOU!

Today at church we prayed for those that live in poverty and for those who are hungry. I began worship with these words from St. Basil the Great.

“When someone steals a man’s clothes we call him a thief. Should we not give the same name to one who could clothe the naked and does not? The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry man; the coat hanging unused in your closet belongs to the man who needs it; the shoes rotting in your closet belong to the man who has no shoes; the money which you hoard up belongs to the poor.”

We really need to be conscious of the cost of our discipleship. Today’s Gospel ready reminds us of those costs. [Luke 14:25-33] Jesus gives the example of building a tower. The builder must sit down and calculate the costs or suffer the embarrassment of laying the foundations and building just part of the structure while others laugh because he did not ‘calculate the cost.’ Sounds a lot like ‘do the math!’ Building a just society is work for ALL of us. We are God’s children and we are called to work towards a society which can foster love, hope, forgiveness, and redemption for all people. We need to ‘do the math’ and realize that we cannot build that Realm of God without paying the price. It is not fair that some of us have so much while others have to share so little. We have to be prepared to sacrifice as individuals and as a society.  Jesus says, “So then, you cannot be my disciple unless you give away everything you own. (CEV)”

 

I am pleased that we prayed today for those who hunger. It was a good liturgy and we all had great conversation over lunch. I am encouraged by all of the conversation and prayer that is taking place around this.

I offer this prayer to you from the Reformed Church of America. We used it in our liturgy this morning and invite you to pray it once a day, perhaps at meal time, for those who are hungry.

Prayer for those who Hunger

O God, we pray now for the hungry—not the spiritually hungry
not the emotionally hungry
not the psychologically hungry
(though they surely need our prayers)—
we pray now simply for the
hungry hungry.
We know in the Realm that Jesus showed us
no one goes hungry,
no one lacks daily bread.

In Your Realm,those with food remember the hungry,
those with food share their food with the hungry,
those with food work on behalf of the hungry,
those with food weep for the hungry,
even if it makes them feel guilty.
God, we are grateful you never forget
about the hungry—
that you long for the hungry to be fed.
God, we are grateful you never forget
about those who aren’t hungry—
that you long for them to feed the hungry.
God, the hungry and unhungry stand as one
before you; loved with the same love,
both in need of you and each other.

God of the Hungry, so many are hungry.
Rescue your hungry children,
fill their stomachs with food
and their hearts with gladness,
so that they, too, might experience the luxury
of dealing only with their spiritual hunger,
their emotional hunger, their psychological hunger.

Send your Spirit to the hungry hungry,
and to the unhungry, until all feast with Jesus in the new age.
In the name of Jesus
and the hungry hungry we pray. AMEN.

This prayer was written by Steve Hammond has co-pastored, with his wife Mary, what is now the Peace Community Church of Oberlin, Ohio for more than twenty years. He directs Ohio Campus Ministries and is active with the Families Against Violence Advocacy

Stay Tuned …I’ll give you an update after tonight’s dinner…..