February Vision Column

From the Pastor’s Desk

Through want and hard hunger they gnaw the dry and desolate ground, they pick mallow and the leaves of bushes, and to warm themselves the roots of broom. They are driven out from society; people shout after them as after a thief. In the gullies of wadis they must live, in holes in the ground, and in the rocks. Among the bushes they bray; under the nettles they huddle together. (Job 30:3-7)

When God created the world God made certain that there was enough food for everyone. Yet today many people go hungry. It is estimated that 854 million people are hungry today. One reason for this is that three billion people live on less than $2 per day and nearly a billion live on less than a dollar. Today this food crisis is compounded by increasing costs for food. One cause is the increased demand for grain to make ethanol as a replacement for gasoline. Another is the rising standard of living in much of the world causing people throughout the world to want to eat the American diet.

Many Presbyterians respond to global hunger by fasting once a month. Fasting is a spiritual practice which allows us to be reconciled with God and with each other. Through fasting we see God more clearly and the injustices around us come into better focus. Prayer is an essential ingredient in fasting because it reminds us of our own sin and need for God forgiveness and intercession in our lives. Fasting therefore becomes a divine encounter where we experience first hand God’s love and power.

John Calvin said the following about fasting: “Whenever a controversy over religion arises which ought to be settled by either a synod or an ecclesiastical court, whenever there is a question about choosing a minister, whenever, finally, any difficult matter of great importance is to be discussed, or again when there appear the judgments of the Lord’s anger (as pestilence, war, and famine)—this is a holy ordinance and one salutary for all ages, that pastors urge the people to public fasting and extraordinary prayers.” (http://www.pcusa.org/hunger/downloads/calvin-fasting.pdf)

So I urge you to fast and pray during this global food crisis. To get started go to the Presbyterian Church USA Global Food Crisis web site www.pcusa.org/foodcrisis/index.htm.


Blessings,

Pastor Jeff