So mortals ate the bread of angels; he provided for them food enough.
This is a great psalm, that goes on and on about how God’s people didn’t trust in God – until God provided for them and saved them from their enemy. Then they were grateful and praised God. Then they forgot, and railed against God. And God provided again.
This morning, I’m struck by the idea that God gives enough. Enough food, enough justice. Anyone who reads the paper, or who’s been on mission trips, or travelled extensively knows this is not the case everywhere. There is not enough food, enough justice. Central America? India? Mexico? Appalachia? Detroit?
What are we to do with this? Are we to rail against God, blaming God? Questioning God’s love and mercy? Perhaps instead, we need to pick up the resolutions of God. Justice, mercy. We who are blessed with mostly enough need to step out and bring that love and mercy to those who don’t have enough. It’s not that God doesn’t give everyone enough, or that God couldn’t. God does, and humans screw it up. We are greedy, and we want power. We want more than enough, and are willing to take it from those who have just enough.
Today, the church calendar commemorates Charles Freer Andrews, an English priest who was drawn to the relationship between a commitment to the Gospel and a commitment to justice, which led him to places where the British Empire wasn’t so just. He ended up meeting a young Indian lawyer, Mohandas Gandhi and was impressed by Gandhi’s knowledge of Christian values and his believe in non-violence. Andrews was probably Gandhi’s closest friend, and worked with him extensively. Eventually, Gandhi convinced Andrews it was better to leave the freedom struggle to the local people, and Andrews returned to England, where he continued to advocate for justice.
Like Andrews, we are called to struggle with the inextricable connection between the Gospel and justice. Between we who God has given enough, and those who are the victims of humanities’ greed and violence, and don’t have enough. We need to show God’s love to people who don’t have enough.
And like Andrews, we need to not stop there. It’s not enough to hand someone food, although that’s important. We need to return to our places of power and work on behalf of those who don’t have enough. We need to use our social and political capital to change the systems that resulted in the haves, and have nots.
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