Give

Give us this day our daily bread.

- Lord’s Prayer

     There need not be any who are hungry or houseless or who have limited or no access to healthcare. But there are. Why? Why when God has given us all that we need? Why, when we have plenty of food to go around, are there people who are still hungry? Why,  when we know how to build everything from tiny homes to “McMansions,” RVs to condos, are there people who are still houseless?  Why, when we know how to heal people, are there people suffering and dying from treatable illnesses for lack of access to healthcare?

     I understand the issues I have just named are complex and the solutions will not come easily. Nonetheless, I believe humanity has the capacity to solve them in spite of their complexity. We have the resources, the “daily bread,” we need to eliminate hunger and homelessness. We have the knowledge, the “daily bread,” to heal people regardless of their financial standing.

     I’m not suggesting that you alone are responsible for solving these problems. No, these are societal problems. Solutions to these issues will require all of us. We’ll need to share “our” collective wisdom and ingenuity, “our” daily bread! Mostly, we will need our collective will and a commitment to the value of “loving-our-neighbor” to tackle and solve these issues.

     In his parable recorded in Matthew chapter 25, Jesus states, “All the nations will be gathered before the Son of Man…”  The nations! Not individuals. For the Son of Man it is the nations who are gifted to serve the least of these, the hungry and thirsty, the stranger and naked, the sick and imprisoned. Great is the nation who uses its wealth to care for and love its neighbors. This is why Jesus commends those nations who live by the “share our daily bread” ethos. It is so in-grained in them that they don’t even think twice. That is why they are surprised when the parable’s Son of Man commends them. God gifts them with daily bread, and because they live by God’s desire that they love their neighbor and share their daily bread, of course they would use that daily bread to love and care for their neighbor. It is who they are.

     Give US this day OUR daily bread, indeed.

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How have you typically prayed the Lord’s Prayer, as an individual, personal prayer or as a communal prayer?

If your praying has more typically been with a personal focus, how might it change you to pray it with a communal focus?

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Photo by Kate Remmer on Unsplash