141 posts categorized "Bible on Hunger"

Bread for the World members headed to Capitol Hill on Tuesday June 14, 2011, to lobby their members of Congress on behalf of poor and hungry people. Lobby Day was part of the Bread for the World's 2011 National Gathering, when nearly 300 people from around the United States converged on Washington, DC, to learn how to advocate against hunger and poverty. Photo by Laura Elizabeth Pohl.

Holy Saturday was a day of Sabbath rest after the violent, tortuous death Jesus’ endured. For his disciples and followers, all hope was lost. But we know what happens on the next page, and soon they would, too.

Lectionary readings:

Job 14:1-14
or Lamentations 3:1-9, 19-24
Psalm 31:1-4, 15-16
1 Peter 4:1-8
Matthew 27:57-66
or John 19:38-42

[The following prayers for Holy Saturday are from Dr. Scot McKnight and can also be found here.]

O God, Creator of heaven and earth: Grant that, as the crucified body of your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with him the coming of the third day, and rise with him to newness of life; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably on your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; by the effectual working of your providence, carry out in tranquility the plan of salvation; let the whole world see and know that things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

+Read all of our Lent reflections.

Maundy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper, with a special focus on two deeply significant acts that night: Jesus washing the disciples’ feet and sharing (and reinterpreting) the bread and wine with his disciples. The word ‘Maundy’ is derived from the Latin word mandatum, meaning "commandment," and refers to the commands Jesus gave his disciples at the Last Supper: to love with humility by serving one another and to remember his sacrifice. (Click here for more information.) 

Lectionary readings:
Exodus 12:1-4, 5-10, 11-14
Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
John 13:1-17, 31b-35

The following prayers for Maundy Thursday are from the Office of Theology and Worship, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.):

Holy God, source and sovereign,
you put all power and authority into the hands of Christ —
Christ, who washes our feet in humble service.
Teach us to love one another as Christ has loved us,
so that everyone will know that we are his disciples;
through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray.

How beautiful, O Lord, are the feet
that proclaim the gospel.

Make us ready to follow Christ:
in word and action,
in service and love,
so that all the world may know 
the one we love and serve: 
Jesus Christ the Lord.

Amen.

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Photo by Flickr user Lel4nd

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays during Lent, we offer reflections from Bread staff and others who faithfully work to end hunger.

Lectionary readings (from the Revised Common Lectionary):

Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 70
Hebrews 12:1-3
John 13:21-32

For your Holy Week journey, we wanted to share a prayer from Ron Sider’s book, For They Shall be Fed:

"Gracious Lord, we bow before you in obedience and humility, for we know that we have life eternal only because of your wonderful grace. Your saving grace has been lovingly offered to us, and our faith in you and your grace makes it possible for us to claim your forgiveness and love. Please help us to share that joyful message of hope with our lost and starving world. Give us compassionate hearts that ever reach out to broken hearts around us. Give us eyes to see the tears that flow from others’ eyes. And give us hands to help the helpless in our own communities and the world. Give us your heart of grace and mercy, Lord, and help us to share it daily. Amen."

Ron Sider is a Christian theologian and activist, founder of Evangelicals for Social Action and author of several books including Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger.

+Read all of our Lent reflections.

On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays during Lent, we invite you to reflect and respond to one highlighted Scripture reading from the Revised Common Lectionary.

Lectionary readings:

Isaiah 49:1-7
Psalm 71:1-14
1 Corinthian 1:18-31
John 12:20-36

Isaiah 49:1-7

Listen to me, O coastlands, 
pay attention, you peoples from far away!
The Lord called me before I was born,
while I was in my mother’s womb he named me.
He made my mouth like a sharp sword,
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow,
in his quiver he hid me away.
And he said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
But I said, “I have labored in vain,
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my cause is with the Lord,
and my reward with my God.”

And now the Lord says,
who formed me in the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him,
and that Israel might be gathered to him,
for I am honored in the sight of the Lord,
and my God has become my strength—
he says,
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to restore the survivors of Israel;
I will give you as a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Thus says the Lord,
the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,
to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations,
the slave of rulers,
“Kings shall see and stand up,
princes, and they shall prostrate themselves,
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

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The crowd at Ecumenical Advocacy Days in Washington, DC, from March 23 to 26, 2012. Photo courtesy of the United Church of Christ.

There was an extra air of excitement on Capitol Hill last weekend. That’s because more than 700 passionate faith advocates descended upon Washington, DC, to attend Ecumenical Advocacy Days, from March 23 to 26. Through worship, theological reflection, and education, this annual conference seeks to train and mobilize Christians to be effective advocates for justice. This year, the event brought together faith leaders and citizen advocates of varying Christian denominations to promote a faithful federal budget. Bread for the World was honored to sponsor the conference, which had a theme that echoed Bread’s 2012 Offering of Letters campaign. The four-day event culminated when attendees met with their respective Representatives and Senators to say: “As people of faith, we urge you defend people struggling to live in dignity by funding programs that protect vulnerable populations here and abroad. Enact a faithful federal budget that serves the common good, provides robust funding for people struggling to overcome poverty, and exercises proper care of the earth.”

New York residents meet with Senator Kristen Gillibrand's office for Ecumenical Advocacy Days. Photo by Beth Begley.

The discussions I had and the people I met at Ecumenical Advocacy Days deepened my sense of hope in faith advocacy. I'm encouraged to know that there is such a powerful movement of faith advocates calling on Congress to protect programs essential to those most in need. With this magnitude of faithful citizens supporting such decisions, I believe that we are well on our way to building the political will to end hunger, but we can’t stop now. 

This week, the House of Representatives approved a 2013 budget that makes drastic and disproportionate cuts to programs essential for poor and hungry people.  As the budget talks continue, it is important to make our voices heard loud and clear now, before it is too late.

Act now to oppose the proposed House budget, and find out more about planning an Offering of Letters.

Kelsey Lalman is an organizing intern at Bread for the World.

Photo by Flickr user wolfgangfoto

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays during Lent, we offer reflections from Bread staff and others who faithfully work to end hunger.

Lectionary readings (from the Revised Common Lectionary):

Isaiah 42:1-9
Psalm 36:5-11
Hebrews 9:11-15
John 12:1-11

[This Lenten reflection is taken from a meditation offered to First Presbyterian Church of Cedar Rapids, IA.]

Many Americans assume that the “separation of church and state” means that religious organizations should not attempt to influence government policy. But I believe that both American history and the Bible strongly challenge this assumption, and a vital part of my Christian witness involves efforts to influence public policy on issues like hunger and the environment.

There are abundant examples of such action in American history, and in the history of this congregation. Before the founding of this nation, colonial clergy were a major force in arousing the spirit of independence, and churches of nearly every major persuasion joined in the battle for independence. In the 19th century, churches were at the forefront in the struggle to abolish slavery and clergy provided an estimated two-thirds of the leadership. Several of the charter members of my congregation, First Presbyterian Church of Cedar Rapids, IA, including Alexander and Mary Weare Ely, were active abolitionists. More recently, churches and synagogues were at the center of the civil rights movement. Vice-President Hubert Humphrey often stated that the Civil Rights Act would never have passed without the energetic, well-organized, and courageous support of religious groups, both black and white. And our senior pastor in the 1960s, Dr. Francis Pritchard, and numerous members of our congregation publicly supported that legislation.

Today, many congregations in our city provide programs and services for poor persons in our community, and we can be proud of First Presbyterian’s leadership on issues like food distribution and refugee resettlement. And yet, the U.S. government can do some things on a scale that charities cannot. Ronald Sider, the head of Evangelicals for Social Action, has stated, “If religious congregations were to try to replace the federal government’s support for just the most basic programs for the poor, such as SNAP [formerly food stamps], each one of the 325,000 religious congregations in America would have to raise more than a million dollars a year to provide comparable assistance to the needy.”

The biblical mandate that we care for the poor appears more than 2,000 times throughout the Scriptures, both in the works of the Hebrew prophets and in Jesus’ ministry to “the least of these” and his admonition that we are to serve him by doing likewise. As Ronald Sider again states, “God judges societies by what they do to the people at the bottom. One thing is crystal clear from the biblical texts: God and God’s faithful people have a great concern for the poor.” For me, that concern must take the form of political action, as well as support for private charity. 

Al Fisher is a sociology professor at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, IA, and an active member of Bread for the World. 

+Read all of our Lent reflections.

On Sundays during Lent, we invite you to reflect and respond to the weekly prayer and action from our Lenten Prayers for Hungry People resource.

Lectionary readings (from the Revised Common Lectionary):

Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29
Mark 11:1-11
or John 12:12-16

Prayer:

O Christ, by your crucifixion and resurrection, you overcome death and all the powers of evil. Grant us faith to trust your promise of new life so that, living in your steadfast love, we may be extravagant in sharing with all those in need.

Amen.

Action:

The weeks following Easter—before the school year ends and summer activities start—are an ideal time to explore how we can be agents of new life in God’s world. The spring recess is also a good time to meet with your representative when she or he returns to the home district. Visit www.bread.org to find suggestions about arranging these face-to-face visits with your Congressional representative.

On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays during Lent, we invite you to reflect and respond to one highlighted Scripture reading from the Revised Common Lectionary.

Lectionary readings:

Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29
Jeremiah 33:10-16
Mark 10:32-34, 46-52

Jeremiah 33:10-16

Thus says the Lord: In this place of which you say, “It is a waste without human beings or animals,” in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without inhabitants, human or animal, there shall once more be heard the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who sing, as they bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord:

“Give thanks to the Lord of hosts,
for the Lord is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!”

For I will restore the fortunes of the land as at first, says the Lord.

Thus says the Lord of hosts: In this place that is waste, without human beings or animals, and in all its towns there shall again be pasture for shepherds resting their flocks. In the towns of the hill country, of the Shephelah, and of the Negeb, in the land of Benjamin, the places around Jerusalem, and in the towns of Judah, flocks shall again pass under the hands of the one who counts them, says the Lord. 

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.” 

I attended the Compassion, Peace, and Justice Day last Friday, March 23, at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC. It was sponsored by the Office of Public Witness, the advocacy office of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in Washington, DC. The purpose of the event was to bring together Presbyterians on the eve of Ecumenical Advocacy Days, which Bread for the World cosponsored, to explore issues of particular importance to Presbyterians. I attended a workshop on food security/food sovereignty and one introducing a paper called, “World of Hurt, Word of Life: Communion in the Work of Economic Reconstruction,” which is being presented to the 2012 General Assembly by the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy.

The paper explores the issues and causes of the global economic crisis and proposes a response by the church that is grounded in our theological tradition. There was one particular section of the presentation that struck me as I was sitting and listening. And this section noted values in our culture that exacerbate the crisis and offers responses, alternatives values that come from our Christian faith that we can lift up in our advocacy for the circle of protection. So I thought I’d share them here.

We are an ownership society.

                                We are a stewardship society!

We are a society of individuals.

                                We are a covenant community!

Inequality happens.

                                We value the common good!

Consumerism abounds.

                                Sustainability is responsible!

The market is infallible.

                                God is sovereign!

Government is fallible.

                                Government is a gift from God!

Nancy Neal is associate for deonomination women's organizational relations at Bread for the World.

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays during Lent, we offer reflections from Bread staff and others who faithfully work to end hunger. 

Lectionary readings (from the Revised Common Lectionary):

Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29
Jeremiah 33:1-9
Philippians 2:12-18

Come with me to a poor urban neighborhood in Dar es Salam, Tanzania. We are heading up an uneven, broken stairway. We carry food along this Via Dolorosa — such small penance on our part! 

This is our second-to-last day in Africa, and after all the walking of the past ten days, my troubled foot requires the cane I brought with me. My fellow pilgrims help me up these stairs.  It is African hot.

We are taking this food to two families for their graciousness in allowing a bunch of well-meaning U.S. Christians to learn from them the way of the cross. 

We are only visiting one family because the other family has had a death. A 4-year-old under-nourished little boy died last night in Dar es Salam. He died because his body could not endure chicken pox. Chicken pox is a deadly disease along this way.

As we reach the first house a woman’s sharp and painful wailing dissects us and great grief wraps itself around our legs, our minds, and our hearts.  We stop outside her door. We suffer with her. We pray. We furtively look into each other’s eyes as we leave the food that we brought for this family on this way of sorrow.

By the time we get to the second house we realize our catalog of questions has shattered along this Via Dolorosa. We have inhaled enough of the poverty to make our chests hurt; we have ingested enough of the sorrow, and we have grown heavy with our knowing.  We have already learned enough. We are more than a little numb.

I stand at one end of a small, narrow hall that opens on both sides.  Multiple households live here.  Sixteen (Or did she say 18?) people call this space: Home. 

We give what now looks like not enough to the mother of the second household, and she thanks us profusely. 

I need to you to see this woman. I need you to see her children. We must all do more! Please, carry this story beyond the borders of this page!  Please know that we must not only continue with the dollars that funds USAID, Feed the Future, and the 1,000 Days Movement. We must be bold enough, we must be inspired enough to see the gospel as it is preached along this way of suffering: we must ask to have it increased! For the hope of the resurrection, we must ask!

Inez Torres Davis participated in an ecumenical delegation of church leaders in a trip to Africa sponsored by Bread for the World last October. She works with the Women of the ELCA as their Director for Justice.