Acts 2:41-47

What is the relationship of the early church to food and food distribution?  Why do you think “breaking bread” is so foundational to living their faith?  What is their attitude as they share their food together?  How are the dynamics of eating together different from simply giving someone food?  How does the early church mirror the Kingdom visions of Isaiah and Ezekiel?

If eating together is so important to the life of faith, what step will you take this weekend to practice this discipline?  Consider inviting someone to your house for dinner or have a potluck meal after church with several families. If it’s too late for this weekend, set it up for next week.

Mark 6:30-44; Mark 8:1-9a

What do you think motivates Jesus to feed the crowds?  How does Jesus’ action mirror the Kingdom as envisioned by Isaiah and Ezekiel?  What is Jesus’ role in the feeding miracles?  What is the role of Jesus’ disciples in each story?  What do the baskets full of leftovers imply about food in God’s Kingdom?

Many have said that we do not have a food production problem, but a food distribution problem.  There are many people who live in places far from access to food.  These places have become known as “food deserts.”  The US Department of Agriculture defines a food desert “as a low-income census tract where a substantial number or share of residents has low access to a supermarket or large grocery store.”  To qualify as a “low-income community,” a census tract must have either: 1) a poverty rate of 20 percent or higher, OR 2) a median family income at or below 80 percent of the census tract’s median family income; To qualify as a “low-access community,” at least 500 people and/or at least 33 percent of the census tract’s population must reside more than one mile from a supermarket or large grocery store (for rural census tracts, the distance is more than 10 miles).

Are there food deserts anywhere near you?  Why do you think food deserts exist?  What is your community doing to address the issue of food access? To see a map of food deserts in America, go to http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-desert-locator.aspx

Ezekiel 47:1-12

The temple is always a symbol of God’s dwelling place among humanity.  Water is often a symbol of life.  What then does it mean that water is coming out of the temple?  As the water flows, what happens?  The ultimate result is food (in abundance) and healing.  If Ezekiel is painting a picture of the Kingdom of God, what statements could we make about the overall condition of creation, food and human well-being? Compare Ezekiel’s vision with Isaiah’s vision (see Day 13).  How are they similar?  How are they different?

Isaiah 25:6-9; Isaiah 55:1-2

For whom is God preparing this amazing feast?  Do you think this is a one-time meal or on-going food supply?  What in the texts leads you to your conclusion?  What, if any, conditions are placed on who receives the food? Why do you think Isaiah emphasizes food quality as well as food quantity?  Think about what food you tend to share with the hungry.  Do you consider both quality and quantity, or are you more likely to just consider the cost?

Local food pantries are an important component in the distribution of food of people who are poor and hungry.  Have you ever gone to a food pantry?  Contributed food to one?  Where do you think the food comes from?  What is the quality of the food people receive?  Do people have access to fresh fruit and vegetables?  How could the quality be improved?  What could you do to improve the quality?

The Greater Chicago Food Depository is a primary source of food for soup kitchens, food pantries and other emergency food distributors.  Link to their web site to find out more about their important work throughout Cook County, IL.  If you live outside of Chicago, what organizations are working to end hunger near you?

Ruth 2:1-23

As an immigrant, Ruth had limited resources and options so she decided to “glean” for food.  As you read the text, what attitudes do you think people had about gleaners?  What dangers do you see implied in the text?  What actions does Boaz take to ensure that Ruth receives enough food for her and her mother-in-law?  What do you think motivated his actions?

What options do families have today if they are hungry?  Some people resort to dumpster-diving outside of restaurants and grocery stores or they visit food pantries on a regular basis.  What attitudes do you have toward today’s gleaners?  What dangers do today’s gleaners face?  How could you be a Boaz in someone’s life during Lent and beyond?

Deuteronomy 24:19-20; Leviticus 19:9-10

The two passages are known as the “gleaning laws” which prohibited farmers from going through their fields, orchards and vineyards more than once. The “leftovers” became available for those who were most likely to be hungry. This is an example of public policy. Besides SNAP, can you think of other public policies our nation has in place to ensure that people do not go hungry?  What do you think makes good public policy around the issue of hunger? Why do you think many people are opposed to expansion of nutrition programs in the US and food aid to developing nations?

Matthew 6:9-13; Proverbs 30:7-9

Thanks to technology, food can be kept for long periods of time.  So other than standing in front of the frig asking ourselves, “What am I going to eat today?” we seldom think about daily dependence upon God for our food.  How can you make the prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread,” more relevant to your relationship to food?

What do you think of Agur’s prayer in Proverbs 30?  Is his assessment of the results of poverty and riches accurate?  How can you avoid these results?  Incidents of prostitution increase at the end of the month. Most social service experts believe it is because people run out of money for food long before their next SNAP payment.  People without food security are faced with difficult choices.  What might people of faith do to respond to the income inequities that force people facing food scarcity into compromising situations?

For thought…   Food prices are on the rise.  Yet SNAP benefits have remained stagnant.  SNAP benefits are a part of the US Farm Bill which is updated every four years.  In June 2012, the US Senate passed a version of 2012 Farm Bill with $4.7 billion in cuts to  SNAP benefits.  The House of Representatives failed to bring its version to the floor after Republicans split over even more cuts to the bill’s nutrition programs (SNAP, WIC, school lunch program, etc).  In December, everyone agreed to extend the current Farm Bill for another year.  There has been little movement since to act on the Farm Bill.  Consider contacting your congressional representatives to ask about the status of the 2012 Farm Bill and express your support for increasing funding for nutritional programs so no one goes hungry.

Exodus 16:19-31

Why do you think some people disregarded God’s instructions about keeping the manna overnight and trying to gather extra manna on the Sabbath?  When has fear of not having enough food led you to foolish actions?  What might this passage say to people who are compelled to hoard food?  How do you define “enough” for yourself and/or your family?  Many of us eat more than our bodies need—especially when we eat out.  For your height and age, what is a good calorie intake per day to maintain your health?  Track your calories for a day and see if you are eating too much, too little, or just the right amount.

For thought…   Of course, you can eat 1,500 calories of “good” food or 1,500 calories of “junk” food.  Where are you getting your calories?  Look at the nutrition label on some of your favorite prepared foods.  Where are most of the calories coming from?  Fats?  Sugars?  If sugar (or other names for the same thing) is one of the top ingredients, you may want to think twice about wasting your calories.   (Other sugar ingredients include fructose, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, brown sugar, evaporated cane juice crystals, corn syrup solids).

Exodus 16:1-3, 11-18

In a place of food scarcity, what “feeds” the Israelite’s grumbling?  How does God respond to their complaints?  How does God’s provision of manna shed light on the Kingdom of God in relationship to food and hunger?  What might God say about our unequal distribution of food and our extremes of food scarcity and over-indulgence?  What do you think God would want us to do?

If you suddenly had no access to food, what would you miss most?  How would you feel about eating the same food every day for weeks and weeks?  The people of Israel were grateful for the manna initially, but got tired of it quickly.  How can you remain grateful for God’s provision even if the provision isn’t exactly what you wanted?

Genesis 1:11-13, 26-30

One of God’s first creative acts was to ensure a sustainable food supply.  What does this act tell you about God?   The first humans seem to be vegan or at least vegetarian (meat is not officially on the menu until Genesis 9 after the account of Noah and the flood.)  Does this surprise you?  Why do you think God did not include meat in their diet initially?  Meat is restricted to certain animals in the Old Testament Law, but by the time of the early church in the New Testament, there are few Biblical restrictions on diet.  Why do you think God and the Bible have become so lax about defining a healthy diet for humans?  Does it matter what we put into our mouths?  Why or why not?

For thought…  The definition of a “balanced” diet in the US is a complicated mixture of science, politics and economics.  Every 5 years, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) updates the definition of a healthy diet.  In the past 50 years, the definition has evolved  from the Four Basic Food Groups to the Food Pyramid to My Plate (2010).  When the standards are set, the various food industries lobby hard to ensure that their products remain prominent.  The National Dairy Council has been very successful at keeping milk and milk products prominent as the primary source of calcium–currently the USDA recommends 3 cups of milk and dairy products daily for adults.  Yet recent studies (Journal of Nutrition, December 2012) have documented a direct link between high levels of milk intake with prostate cancer.  Where do you get your nutrition information?  How do you decide what is “healthy” for your diet?

For further thought…  Seeds are basic to the production of food.  In our current production system, seeds have become patented property of a few large agricultural corporations.  Known as genetically modified organisms (GMOs), these seed promise great yield, yet GMOs cannot reproduce themselves, forcing farmers to purchase new seed from the seed companies every year.  Do you think God has an opinion about GMOs?  If so, try to articulate it in a few sentences.