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Tuesday, August 8, 2023

More Than Enough for Everyone

God has provided more than enough food for everyone in the world to have plenty every day, and yet world hunger is a persistent issue. It doesn’t matter how much food is available if those who control the distribution refuse to allow it to be shared fairly. What if we think about sharing the world’s food resources as being sacramental, perhaps as an extension of the Sacrament of Holy Communion?  

World hunger is, and never ceases to be, a spiritual issue. It only becomes political when it is used as leverage to deprive people of their fair share of the world’s nutritional resources. In the Judgement of the Nations in Matthew 25, the nations are gathered and divided according to how they have treated their most vulnerable populations. The pronouncement of the One sitting on the throne of glory begins as phrased in the New Revised Standard Version:

Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. (Matthew 25:24-35 NRVS).

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Excerpt from the manuscript of the sermon preached by 
Rev. Bill Lawson on August 6, 2023, at Briensburg UMC.
10th Sunday after Pentecost
Isaiah 55:1-5, Psalm 145:8-9 & 14-21, Romans 9:1-5, Matthew 14:13-21,

Complete Sermon with Bibliography and Notes:
 [ PDF | MP3 Audio | E-Book & Other Formats ]









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