Hunger games

I attended a local hunger banquet last night to commemorate World Food Day. The concept of a hunger banquet is simple. People are randomly assigned a meal representing a typical diet for high, medium, or low income groups across the world. It provides a look at the nutritional and caloric disparity in diet. The high income meal was not lavish, but did provide a 4 oz serving of protein, two servings of fresh vegetables, and two servings of grain. The middle income meal was beans and rice, which provides protein and comparable calories to the high income meal, but fewer nutrients. The low income meal was rice, which was deficient in calories and nutrients.



To drive home the disparities, the number of each type of meal was representative of global food availability. About 15% of the banquet attendees received the high income meal, 50% received the middle income meal, and 35% received the low income meal. As we ate, each table discussed the disparities, particularly in the context of our personal experiences. Most at my table had never experienced food insecurity.

One word seems best to describe the thoughts of folks at our table - consciousness. We agreed that we rarely give food a second thought beyond when and what we will eat. There are never questions about if we will eat or whether it will be filling and nutritious. We may choose to eat unhealthy food, but that will be because it will be fast and full of fat. Someone at the table confessed to have eaten a donut or two at the local coffee shop before coming to the dinner.

This particular hunger banquet was an interfaith gathering. There were folks from local Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, and Buddhist congregations. Thanks to random assignment, you were likely to eat with strangers from a different faith tradition. It is a good design. Otherwise, we would have clumped up into comfortable enclaves of friends and fellow congregants. We humans love our tribes.

Speakers from every faith tradition spoke about their scriptural call to address the problem of hunger. All did a nice job of hammering home the message that we are our brother's and sister's keeper. I did not have a favorite speaker, but I did have a favorite quote (Deuteronomy 16:20):

Justice, only justice, you must pursue; so that you will live and inherit the land Adonai your God is giving you.

All too often, we pursue injustice out of greed. The result is always death, disease, and dislocation.

In addition to justice and generosity of spirit, the other message driven home was that we are stronger together. Whatever our theological differences, solving big problems requires cooperation and trying to outdo one another in love. How ironic this hunger banquet coincided with a so-called debate in a divisive political contest in which there has been an abundance of trash talk about the poor and the use of faith as a weapon.

The dessert course was a chance to talk with representatives of organizations working to address the problem of hunger locally and internationally. Donations were limited to $1. The goal was not to raise money, but encourage people to donate their time to serve others.

All in all, it was a satisfying meal.

Food for thought

October 16 is World Food Day. Perhaps one day it will be a day to celebrate our bounty. However, it is tough to celebrate plenty when too many across America and the world go hungry. It is a big problem, but one that can be solved if it is made a priority.


Anyone with a passing familiarity with scripture understands that God expects us to make sure no one goes without food, water, and shelter. We fail to honor God when we turn our heads, make excuses, and do not lend a hand. Part of giving thanks for our blessings is giving to others.

Food played a large role in the ministry of Jesus. He showed his disciples that it was possible to feed thousands with a little effort and faith. He told his followers to care for the hungry as if they were feeding him. He even chose bread and wine as the symbols to use in remembrance of his life, death, and resurrection. Every Jew understands the significance of these symbols as they are blessed to usher in every sabbath and holiday.

"Blessed are You, LORD, our God, King of the universe, Who brings forth bread from the earth."

"Blessed are You, LORD, our God, King of the universe, Who creates the fruit of the vine."

Attending a World Food Day event is nice, but doing something to end hunger is better. One place to start is to reduce food waste. A recent U.S. Department of Agriculture study found that 40% of the food produced in America goes to to waste. Waste occurs at every step of the way from farm to your table.

Whenever we confront large and complex problems, we are tempted to say that we are too small and insignificant to solve them. But you can do things to be part of the solution instead of the problem. Pay attention to the food you throw away. Are you buying too much or making too much? Something that looks like a bargain in the stores is less of a bargain if you end up throwing a good bit of it into the compost, disposal, or trash. Canning, freezing, making soup, and sharing with others are simple ways to waste less. Taking those steps requires awareness that we all waste more than we should.

Once you have a handle on your own waste, there are other simple things you can do to make a difference. Encourage grocers and restaurants to donate unsold and unused perishable items to a local food bank. Better yet, volunteer to help a local food bank rescue food from retailers. It is a win-win proposition. Retailers throw away less, get tax credits, and build good will in the community. Food banks and their customers get access to fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and meats that would be otherwise lost. The missing link is getting the food from the retailers to the food bank. This is where a few hours of your time can make a big difference. Just remember those loaves and fishes.

Researchers from Finland took a closer look at food waste across the globe and came to an interesting conclusion (emphasis added):

As a result of food loss in the food production chain, it was determined that globally 614 kilocalories per every person a day are lost. Without this loss, present global food production would yield 2,609 kilocalories of edible food a day for every inhabitant in the world. Thus, by halving the food losses, we could feed 8 billion people with the currently used resources.

In other words, we could feed a billion people by just cutting waste in half. Loaves and fishes, brothers and sisters. Loaves and fishes.

Amazing walk of faith

Timothy Kurek is one courageous young man. A devout Christian, he decided to spend a year living as a gay man to experience first hand the discrimination and hatred directed against homosexuals in our society. He has written a book about his experiences ("The Cross in the Closet"). It should be required reading for all of us, especially those that follow Christ.


Brother Tim was raised as a Christian and clearly has taken his walk with Christ seriously. As he put it, Christ was the ultimate example of empathy. Empathy means that you can feel the pain and suffering of others. It moves you to act in ways that show the love of God for others.

The trouble is that many Christians are taught not to love others as Christ taught. That is particularly true when it comes to the issue of homosexuality. Growing up in Tennessee, Tim was not only taught that homosexuality was a sin but that it was an abomination, the ultimate sin.

"You learned to be very afraid of God," said Kurek. According to the preachings of his church, "The loving thing to do is to tell my friend who is gay, 'Hey, listen, you are an abomination and you need to repent to go to heaven.' I absolutely believed in that lock, stock and barrel."

Christians are being taught to hate. It is dressed up as loving the sinner and hating the sin, but it replaces God's love and grace with hatred. We are all sinners. We have all fallen short of the perfection that Jesus proved was possible. However, instead of loving others and leaving judgment to God, there has been a deliberate attempt to create outcasts from the children of God. We are taught to hate homosexuals. We are taught to hate people of other religions, especially Muslims. We are taught to hate atheists. We are even taught to hate people based on political ideation.

As Christians, we know John 3:16 by heart. It says that God so loved the world (all of humanity). Too many of us seem to think that it says that God so loved me and those that think, act, and believe like me. Well, God is much freer with his love than that. All are loved and encouraged to open their hearts to God.

Kurek's eyes started to open when a woman he was friends with confided in him that she was a lesbian and how terribly she had been treated by family and friends. His first reaction was to treat her as badly as the others in her life had done. The Holy Spirit kept pushing him to think and feel the empathy that Jesus practiced and taught.

He decided to do something extraordinary. He decided to live as a gay man for year and see life through the eyes of his friend. Only a handful of people knew the truth. It was a remarkable journey.

But one day, sitting in a café in a part of Nashville where the gay bars and Christian hang-outs intersect, Kurek had his first confrontation. While reading a gay-themed book, he became aware of the "snickers and sneers."

"A guy came up to me when he saw the cover and said, 'You know that is fundamentally false -- you can't be gay and Christian,'" said Kurek, who responded, "I am gay and I love God."

Tim's friends stopped calling. His mother wrote in her journal that she would rather have cancer than a gay son. Their reaction shows how people of faith are being trained to be unloving towards others, even those that they have known and loved for many years.

When the year was up, Tim told his family and friends about his little experiment. For many, including his mother, it was eye-opening. The experience had changed him and all those around him. Their appreciation of the empathy of Christ had grown by leaps and bounds. It was a mustard seed of love that grew large and powerful.

Kurek says his book stays away from theology. That is not true. Theology is our understanding of God. His book says a great deal about God, particularly the love and grace freely given to all of us. It is a theology that is deep and true.

She said her name was Gloria

Our spiritual journey is full of surprises. As followers of Christ, our challenge is to learn and grow from each twist and turn. A woman crossed my path last Saturday. She taught me what it really means to be thankful for our blessings. 

The Saturday morning distribution at the local food bank is usually hectic. Because about 50 more people showed up than usual last Saturday, it was particularly hectic. I was handling meat distribution, the lines were long, and I was more focused on speed and efficiency than I should have been. And then I meet Gloria.

One of the local grocery stores had a given us a bunch of individually wrapped soup bones. After each person had made their selections, I asked if they would be interested in getting a soup bone or two. Usually the response was a polite yes or no thank you. 

Gloria followed a different script. When I mentioned the soup bones, her face lit up. 

"I love soup bones. Soup is my favorite comfort food and nothing beats making it from scratch."

I smiled and handed her the bags. Our eyes meet and I was blown away by her smile and the light in her eyes.

"This is my first time here and I feel so blessed. Everyone is so friendly. There are so many choices and so many things I really like. My name is Gloria, by the way."

As she was walking away, she looked at me and said, "God is great. Thank you."

Gloria's infectious joy and gratitude stuck with me the rest of that crazy morning. The sad truth is I have encountered that thankful attitude more among the clients at the food bank than I have among friends and family. It raises the obvious question of why. Why aren't we all more like Gloria? Perhaps the more you have, the less you appreciate anything. Even when you "know" how blessed you are, it is seductively easy to take it all for granted. 

Beyond forgetting to count our blessings, abundance also breeds waste. Across the world, about one third of the food produced winds up in the trash. America is one of the world leaders in waste. A recent study found that food waste in America tops out at 40%. It is obscene. The study estimates that we waste about $1.49 worth of food per person per day in America, with two-thirds of that coming from consumers rather than producers. Across the world, nearly 2 billion people survive on $1.49 a day or less for food.

On a per capita basis in 2008, the food lost from the food supply at the consumer level is equivalent to 124 kg of food per year at an estimated retail price of $390/year at retail prices or .03 kg of food per day valued at $1.07/day. This is roughly 10% of the average amount spent on food per capita in 2008. In 2008, three food groups were responsible for 78% of the total value of food loss at the consumer level, per capita. These groups are meat, poultry and fish ($197/year), vegetables ($61/year), and dairy products ($48/year). Therefore, these food groups might be potential areas to target when educating consumers about food loss.

It is a question of mindfulness. If we truly love God, then our heart should be overflowing with gratitude for our many blessings. That means we should think and act a lot more like Gloria. Appreciating our bounty also requires that we pay attention to what we waste and find ways of reducing it.

One line from the parable of the faithful servant in Luke 12 stands out:

From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

Thank you, Gloria, for a joyful dose of mindfulness. 

Musings from a booth

Today marks the end of the Jewish celebration of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacle. I was blessed with the opportunity to share a meal in a friend's sukkah, the traditional booth that serves as a temporary residence during this weeklong festival.

Per Leviticus 23:39-43:

“‘So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to the Lord for seven days; the first day is a day of sabbath rest, and the eighth day also is a day of sabbath rest. On the first day you are to take branches from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees—and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. Celebrate this as a festival to the Lord for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. Live in temporary shelters for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in such shelters so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’”

I have come to look forward to the annual invitation to share a meal in the sukkah. The first time I was included I could not fathom why someone would go to such great lengths to set up a booth in their backyard. Understanding the symbolism was easy. Understanding why someone would spend hours building and decorating a booth, not to mention doing so in early autumn when the weather starts to get a bit iffy around here, was more difficult.

The ritual blessing of the fronds and fruit is a nod to God as creator. Sitting out under the stars and moon gets you into that frame of mind.

This year I tried to be bit more mindful of my blessings. Friendships. Being born into freedom. Having enough to eat and a roof over my head. The spiritual context of the holiday makes more sense to me now, as does the hassle of putting up and taking down that booth in your yard or temple grounds.

I thought of Jesus celebrating this holiday. In His day, Sukkot would have had a strange feel to it with the nation of Israel under the control of Rome. Freedom from Egypt had been replaced by bondage to another regional power. You can still celebrate God being with you always, whether you are living in freedom or under a tyrant's thumb. There would also have been a subversive element to celebrating the Feast of Tabernacle even as Roman soldiers stood guard. You had to believe that eventually God would free you from the Romans.

Of course, there is a difference between physical and spiritual bondage. Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's and render unto God that which is God's.

We Americans seem preoccupied these days with our material well-being. We are supposed to revere and envy the rich. The poor are supposed to be downtrodden. Spiritual well-being too often amounts to nothing more than paying lip service to God while pursing the almighty dollar with all one's heart, mind, and soul. Maybe too much prosperity is a curse rather than blessing. We are worshipping the golden calf and selling ourselves into yet another form of physical bondage.

Sitting in a sukkah can be downright disorienting. An important part of Sukkot observance is to welcome neighbors and friends to celebrate the spiritual unity of God's people. That mindset seems to be missing. The children of God in America are very much divided by wealth, politics, race, ethnicity, and religion. It makes me a little fearful for our future.

I guess this Festival of Booths is starting to make a good deal more sense to me.

She walked the true walk

The body of Christ has lost a sister of great beauty. Her name was Mary Rose McGeady, the Catholic nun responsible for reviving and growing the largest ministry for homeless youth in our country. She ran Covenant House, which provides shelter, food, and social services for homeless teens across North America. Sister McGeady took over Covenant House after the priest that founded the organization was forced to resign over questions of sexual and financial shenanigans. Donations were evaporating and services were being cut. Here is part of the organization's tribute to her:

In an interview with Catholic New York when she announced her retirement in 2002, Sister Mary Rose said that before took on the president’s job at Covenant House, she prayed.

“I told the Lord if he wanted to save this place, he’d have to do it and he’s done it,” she said.

Kevin Ryan, the current head of Covenant House, who was among those present at her bedside when she died, called Sister Mary Rose "the Mother Teresa of street children" and "a holy tornado of determination and compassion."

"She had a huge soft spot for kids, but she was no one's fool," Ryan said. "Come hell or high water, she was determined to clean up Covenant House. From ashes, really, she pulled Covenant House forward and saved hundreds of thousands of kids."

During her tenure, Covenant House expanded its reach dramatically, with new crisis shelters, street outreach and long-term residential programs for homeless youth in Canada, the United States and Nicaragua. Covenant House now reaches more than 57,000 children and youth in six countries each year.

A holy tornado of determination and compassion. That is what Jesus called all of his followers to become in their walk of faith. And even if we don't run a large organization serving those in great need, we should be known for our integrity and heart for others.

There was never any question of her service of God and others. She lead by example in the fire of her love for others.

As you look over the body of Christ, ask yourself a simple question. Is Sister Mary Rose the rule or the exception when it comes to Christian leaders in America? Since her life was worthy of remembrance by the New York Times, it safe to say her walk of faith stands out.

Many people in America call themselves "evangelical" Christians. For many that means talking about their belief in Christ. Big deal. Sister Mary Rose was a true evangelist for the love of God. She tempted people to believe in Christ by her love for the unloved, neglected, and abused. Her love will be missed. Her walk of faith was a blessing for others.

Jesus was married?

Karen King, a professor at the Harvard Divinity School, announced the finding of what appears to be a 4th century papyrus fragment. It comes from a previously unknown Coptic gospel. The line that has everyone buzzing is, "Jesus said to them, my wife ..."



As Dr. King explains, the fragment does not prove that Jesus was married. It merely highlights the preoccupation of early Christians with the question of whether Jesus was married or not. As the oral tradition gave way to the written word, a few scattered references in non-canonical texts have raised the possibility.

There are plenty of questions about the authenticity of this fragment. It was in the hands of a private collector and there is no record of its discovery or history. A number of Coptic scholars are skeptical of the script and phrasing. Archeologists have questioned its sudden appearance and possible financial motives of the collector. Academic journals and museums refuse to make public artifacts without an established history and provenance.

Hany Sadak, the director general of the Coptic Museum in Cairo, said the fragment's existence was unknown to Egypt's antiquities authorities until news articles this week.

"I personally think, as a researcher, that the paper is not authentic because it was, if it had been in Egypt before, we would have known of it and we would have heard of it before it left Egypt," he said.

Even if the initial tests of its authenticity are verified, there remains a more important question. Does it really matter to the followers of Christ? Nothing changes if Jesus was married or not. Jesus told his followers to take their marital vows seriously and remain faithful to their spouse in thought as well as deed. That is the ultimate take-home message. He also said the bonds of marriage will have no meaning in the Kingdom of Heaven.

According to researchers at Harvard Divinity School, here is the significance of this tiny scrap of papyrus:

If authentic, this tiny, damaged fragment provides tantalizing glimpses into issues about family, discipleship, and marriage that concerned ancient Christians. The main topic of the dialogue between Jesus and his disciples is one that deeply concerned early Christians, who were asked to put loyalty to Jesus before their natal families, as the New Testament gospels show. Christians were talking about themselves as a family, with God the Father, his son Jesus, and members as brothers and sisters. Twice in the tiny fragment, Jesus speaks of his mother, and once of his wife—one of whom is identified as "Mary." The disciples discuss whether Mary is worthy, and Jesus states that "she can be my disciple." Although this is less clear, it may be that by portraying Jesus as married, the Gospel of Jesus's Wife conveys a positive theological message about marriage and sexuality, perhaps similar to the Gospel of Philip’s view that pure marriage can be an image of divine unity and creativity.

This gospel fragment provides a reason to reconsider what we thought we knew by asking what role claims about Jesus's marital status played historically in early Christian controversies over marriage, celibacy, and family. The Gospel of Jesus's Wife makes it possible to say with certainty that some early Christians believed that Jesus was married. This conclusion potentially has significant implications for the history of ancient Christian attitudes toward marriage, sexuality, and reproduction.

The crux of the matter is not marriage, but sexuality. Christians that think sexual acts are evil or unclean want to see Christ as celibate. Some even claim to be more Christ-like because they are celibate. Of course, not all who claim to abstain from sex are celibate or Christ-like.

We live in world of 7 billion people and suffering is everywhere you turn. The message of Christ is simple. We are to go out into that world and serve as beacons of God's love. In that context, it does not matter whether Jesus was married or not. Moreover. sexual ethics are simple in the context of marriage. What is much more complicated and difficult is to repair a world filled with violence, greed, despair, and need. That is what we are called to do as followers of Christ.

If Jesus was married, then I have faith that he treated his spouse with the utmost respect and love. If he was not married, then I have no doubt that he encouraged his followers to love their spouse and be thankful for the companionship. Those preoccupied with the celibacy of Christ have lost sight of the forest for the trees.