Reflection
Every Wednesday, my wife Debbie dons her Cathedral of the Assumption “daily lunch crew” ball cap and heads downtown to feed the hungry. For decades, the parish has served baloney sandwiches to hungry people in an orderly dining room located on Baloney Alley behind our antebellum cathedral.
On several occasions, I have joined her in washing, peeling, and cutting vegetables for soup, slicing loaves of bread, displaying pastry desserts, and filling drink cups. At 12:10, a few minutes after the bold steeple bell announces the Angelus, dozens of men, women, and sometimes children enter the building and line up, cafeteria-style, to receive welcoming smiles and trays of food, including fresh baloney sandwiches.
As I have served these people, I think of Dorothy Day’s truth: if you want to see the face of Christ, look into the eyes of the poor.
Decked in clothes probably acquired from community clothes closets or second-hand stores, most guests express gratitude and maybe a toothless grin. Some, perhaps too preoccupied with burdens they carry, keep their heads bowed as they pass through the line in silence.
Whether or not they are aware of it, the volunteers at the cathedral are acting on a Catholic teaching that all people have certain God-given rights: the right to shelter, the right to clothing, the right to health care, the right to food and drink. In the United States, we have a long way to go to ensure these rights for everyone. But as disciples, we don’t wait for government policies.
We follow Jesus’ command in today’s Gospel: “Give them some food yourselves.”
All the while, we know our Corporal Work of Mercy to feed the hungry, done with love (see today’s epistle), is not sufficient to meet the need.
The United Nations estimates that 318 million people face acute hunger today. A total of 2.3 billion of the world’s population of 8.3 billion are food insecure. These numbers are too staggering to imagine. The causes are multiple: poverty, extreme weather, conflicts, displacement, agriculture policies that favor corporations over the common good, and food waste.
Will the work on Baloney Alley solve the hunger crisis? Yes. For the hundred or so who are fed there today. But for the vast number of others? No.
Like other serious global issues, such as climate change, the threat of nuclear war, lack of health care, housing, prison reform, immigration, and on and on, I can’t solve the hunger crisis. But I can “give them some food (our)selves.” It is important not to fall to the temptation to be paralyzed in the face of insurmountable problems. As prophetic followers of Jesus, we don’t look for results. We look to do what God wants us to do in the here and now. Each bowl of soup, each sandwich, each piece of fruit, sweet dessert, given to a hungry brother or sister is our way of meeting Christ, not solving an international crisis. Lobby for Congress to change policies and fully fund food stamps. Support organizations fighting hunger. And look in the face of a hungry fellow human as you set food on their tray. But do all these noble deeds as a divine act. Whatever good will result is the work of God.
In deep prayer, we let us open our hearts to God, seeking guidance on how best to respond to the command “Give them some food yourselves.”
Jim Wayne’s reflection on Jan.6 encourages us “to think globally and act locally.” His monthly reflections speak to the “signs of the times,” always using the Gospel message to help us follow Jesus more dearly.