Today we live in a world overpopulated by a factor of over 7 times its carrying capacity. Even so today's lessons reflect the fact that then as now our biggest concern should be the inequality in the sharing of God's Bounty. The wealth of the world is not shared equally among its people. While so many starve in America hundreds are still paid not to grow food, corn is diverted to the production of Ethanol driving up the price of food, a third of the food produced here is discarded before it reaches a supermarket and at least as much is wasted before it reaches our tables or is thrown out uneaten. The twenty-five richest people on earth have more income than the remaining 7 billion.
Poverty and hunger are a constant theme thoughout the Old and New Testament to such a degree that the Lord's Golden Age is described as one in which every good thing will be showered in abundance and hunger will be unknown. Notwithstanding this in Isaiah the point is made that the bread that God gives is more satisfying than earthly bread.
The Psalm affirms our duty to praise and thank God for his bounty and to be stewards of that bounty in ensuring that it is shared with all.
Today's Epistle is off somewhere in left field which brings us to the Gospel. Jesus renown was a fickle master. In the wake of the murder of John the Baptist he attempts to avoid notice by escaping to 'the wilderness' but the crowds follow him and he heals the sick and then feeds them in today's iconic lesson. This gracious act is a mixed blessing as in a world where food is in short supply the crowds know a good thing when they see it and clamour for more. To escape these demands the disciples are dispatched across the water in a boat and "he went up on the mountain by himself to pray." This need to escape the crowds for quiet meditation is a constant throughout the Gospels.
Although today's lesson demonstrates Christ's concern for the physical well-being of those who came to hear him it is to be remembered that Man does not live by bread alone Mat_4:4. The true bread that Christ brought to the world is the Good News, the Gospel he taught. Were we to truly live by those precepts all the world would be clothed and fed.
Poverty and hunger are a constant theme thoughout the Old and New Testament to such a degree that the Lord's Golden Age is described as one in which every good thing will be showered in abundance and hunger will be unknown. Notwithstanding this in Isaiah the point is made that the bread that God gives is more satisfying than earthly bread.
The Psalm affirms our duty to praise and thank God for his bounty and to be stewards of that bounty in ensuring that it is shared with all.
Today's Epistle is off somewhere in left field which brings us to the Gospel. Jesus renown was a fickle master. In the wake of the murder of John the Baptist he attempts to avoid notice by escaping to 'the wilderness' but the crowds follow him and he heals the sick and then feeds them in today's iconic lesson. This gracious act is a mixed blessing as in a world where food is in short supply the crowds know a good thing when they see it and clamour for more. To escape these demands the disciples are dispatched across the water in a boat and "he went up on the mountain by himself to pray." This need to escape the crowds for quiet meditation is a constant throughout the Gospels.
Although today's lesson demonstrates Christ's concern for the physical well-being of those who came to hear him it is to be remembered that Man does not live by bread alone Mat_4:4. The true bread that Christ brought to the world is the Good News, the Gospel he taught. Were we to truly live by those precepts all the world would be clothed and fed.
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