Not By Bread Alone

Each year 25,000 people in the world die of hunger or hunger-related problems. One person every 3.6 seconds dies of starvation. The great majority of these individuals are children under five years old. One-half of the world’s two billion children live in poverty.

These and similar statistics are so staggering that it’s possible for us to feel stymied, as if our little bit could make no real difference. While reminding us that ‘humankind does not live by bread alone,’ Jesus nevertheless did not minimize the need for physical nutrition and health. Rather, he lived out a holistic compassion and concern for the physical, emotional and spiritual well-being of others, and insisted that his followers do likewise. He provided bread for the hungry, and used the incredible symbol of bread to speak of himself (‘I am the bread of life’) and his self-giving (‘This is my body broken for you’). When we ‘break bread together on our knees,’ are we not also invited to share bread with those who have none?