Our readings and hymns focus on bread. Isaiah calls the people: “Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which does not satisfy?” Isaiah proclaims God’s abundance to the people of Israel. This resonates with the lives of many today. People are earning and spending, but they are still not satisfied.

We are not satisfied because we are told that we live in a world of scarcity. Yet anyone who researches food production soon finds that the problem is not always scarcity. Brianna McIlraith wrote in Stuff on 24 February 2023, “By the numbers: Who is eating all of our food if we make enough to feed 40 million people?”

Let’s face the reality. New Zealand annually produces enough food to feed 40 million people. We have only 5,361,300 people. Yet one in seven children in New Zealand lives in poverty. Some parents cannot afford to feed their children. The school lunch programme encouraged children to attend school, but now those in authority want to put profit before people. Over 20,000 meals are thrown away each day because they are not suitable for consumption. We may hear 101 explanations that defend the status quo by blaming irresponsible adults. However, the ethical question remains: why can’t we feed the children in a country that produces an excessive amount of food?

When we think of these facts, grief may fill our thoughts. Some of us may ask, “Have I in any way contributed to this crisis?” That question resonates with the words of our collect today. It is a very powerful prayer.
“God of the hungry, make us hunger and thirst for the right, till our thirst for justice has been satisfied and hunger has gone from the earth.” I wish we pray this every day.

These words echo Jesus’ words in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6). To be filled, we must hunger and thirst for righteousness. So we prayed, “Make us hunger and thirst for right.” When we are not hungry for justice, it is often because we are already full of privilege. There is nothing wrong with recognising our blessings, but Christ calls us to ask where compassion is leading us.

When Jesus heard about the beheading of John the Baptiser, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The way his cousin was killed must have been very hard to come to terms with. But when the crowds heard where he was going, they followed him on foot from the towns. There was no space for Jesus to be alone and grieve for John. A great crowd came to Jesus for healing, and he had compassion and healed the sick. When it was late, he felt the hunger in the stomachs of the people. He asked the disciples to feed them.
They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” Jesus took the food in his hands and miraculously fed the crowd. There was not only fulfilment, but also surplus.

This miracle is so significant that it is the only pre-crucifixion sign recorded in all four Gospels. Jesus acts with exuberant, extravagant, overflowing love. His is an abundance of grace, regardless of who the people are or what religion they follow. Do we trust him to provide what we need, not only the bare necessities, but an overabundance of justice?

The miracle begins with compassion, but it does not end with compassion alone. Jesus asks the disciples to place what they have in his hands. The hunger of the crowd becomes a call to shared responsibility.

We have an abundance of food, but people are starving. That is injustice. May the words of our collect today continue to echo in our lives daily: “God of the hungry, make us hunger and thirst for the right, till our thirst for justice has been satisfied and hunger has gone from the earth.”