In one of Anthony de Mello’s stories, God decided to visit the earth, so He sent an angel to survey the situation prior to his visit. The angel returned with his report. “Most of them lack food.†God said, “Then I shall become incarnate in the form of food for the hungry.â€
This is only part of the story, but makes the important point that if God does not touch people at their point of basic need, God often does not touch them at all.
Lack of food inflicts vast parts of the world, and famine relief is a large complex operation involving UN agencies, wealthy countries, and numerous international charities. As Canon Oestrieker once wrote: “Bread for myself is a material question; bread for others is a political questionâ€.
Hunger is a reality in every city in NZ. There are always people who lack the social skills to live with others or get a job, and the personal skills even to access welfare where it is available.
Recently in our local shopping centre, I noticed a homeless man going through a rubbish tin next to a taxi rank. Like good-mannered Kiwis, most bystanders pretended not to notice what was going on. As he scurried away empty–handed, one of the taxi drivers called him over, reached into his taxi and gave him an orange. And this taxi driver was obviously an immigrant. To me as observer it seemed that through this stranger, the Food God had intervened and given that man some lunch.
All the main cities in NZ have a ‘City Mission’(sometimes more than one) to feed the hungry, or some variation. For instance Wellington has a Soup Kitchen that provides two meals a day for 70 homeless, and Christchurch a food van that circles the inner-city streets six nights a week. In many towns the Churches combine to supply and staff a food bank.
Nearly all of these agencies supply hot food with no strings attached. It is not an attempt to change lives or add to church numbers. It is simply meeting a human need. But inasmuch as it is sharing the bounty of the earth it is doing God’s work.
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