St Columba – Bishop’s House Iona
One of the highlights of our life has been the opportunity to spend Holy week on the island of Iona several years ago. During that pilgrimage I was given a copy of what is known as Columba’s prayer. It is still one of my favourites for quieting my soul and helping me to become attentive to the voice of God.
Columba founded the Abbey on Iona and is attributed with spreading Christianity throughout modern day Scotland. His life was not without controversy however as he was exiled from Ireland following a dispute over the copying of a psalter. The dispute resulted in the Battle of Cúl Dreimhne in 561, during which many men were killed. A synod of clerics and scholars threatened to excommunicate him for these deaths, but St. Brendan of Birr spoke on his behalf with the result that he was allowed to go into exile instead. On the advice of an aged hermit, Molaise, he resolved to expiate his offense by going into exile and win for Christ as many souls as had perished in the terrible battle of Cuil Dremne. I wonder if as he wrote this and meditated on his own words, he remembered the battle and his failure to listen to God at the time of this dispute.
Sometimes in a lowly cell, in the presence of my God,
I stand and listen.
In the silence of my heart I can hear his will,
When I listen despairing people flock to me,
They expect that I can see the answers,
They ask my advice, they say I am wise.
I answer that nothing can deceive me,
If I stand alone and silently listen.
For I am but a servant who is guided by his king, when I listen.
Sometimes in a lowly cell in the presence of my God
I stand and listen.
In 2006 the UN World Food Program produced but never publicly released this map charting food consumption. Depending on your perspective it maps obesity or starvation.
The Fat Map via Huffington Post
In an article in Huffington post Princess Haya Al Hussein commented:
The mis-distribution of food goes deeper than even the “Fat Map” implies. In India, for example, more than 300 million overweight people coexist with another 300 million who starve. Chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease that often stem from overeating are growing at a far faster rate in developing countries than in the more prosperous West. In my own region, the Middle East, obesity is skyrocketing, especially among young people.
In 2007-2008, a global food crisis surprised us as prices soared. But would the crisis have been as severe if we were not so accustomed to wasting the food we have?
The data was updated in 2012, and American Samoa and Saudi Arabia pushed the U.S. out of the top position. Reuters estimated that obesity in America added an astounding $190 billion to the annual national healthcare price tag, exceeding smoking as public health enemy number one when it comes to cost. According to Sheldon Jacobson of the University of Illinois, the extra weight carried by vehicles as a result of obese and overweight Americans is responsible for almost one billion additional gallons of gasoline being burned each year by our automobiles—nearly 1 percent of our total gasoline usage.
In some places overeating has become a popular spectator sport with You Tube videos of overeating competitions receiving hundreds of thousands of hits.
I realize that this is not a simple eat less be healthy equation. Some people who are fat are very healthy and some who are skinny suffer from eating disorders that are as detrimental to their health as overeating is. However the inequity of food distribution and the resulting starvation, even in developing nations is something that should outrage us, and the complacency with which we watch starving children in Africa while consuming enormous meals that give us heart disease and diabetes should have us on our knees in repentance.
There is another dimension to this too. Currently, in the U.S., almost half of our food — 40 percent of what we grow— ends up in the garbage. Globally, food waste is rising to 50 percent as developing nations struggle with spoilage and Western nations simply toss edible food away. Instead of turning our food system inside out to meet that 2050 deadline, why don’t we simply waste less?
Of course cutting down on my wastage here in the U.S. will not help starving children in Africa, but as Jesse Hirsch and Reyhan Harmanci point out in Food Waste: The Next Revolution it might help keep food prices down so that their parents can afford to buy food.
Hirsch and Reyhan also point out that the environmental toll for throwing away so much uneaten food is also costly. Of the millions of tons that we waste in America each year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates 96 percent ends up in landfills. Food waste is the number one material taking up landfill space, more than paper or plastic. This produces methane gas, one of the most harmful atmospheric pollutants.
So as you think about the challenges of hunger this week, think too about how much food waste you create each week. How much of it goes into the landfill?
Now ponder Princess Hussein’s question about the food crisis we still face: Would the crisis we have be as severe if we were not so accustomed to wasting the food we have? You might like to read through this list Don’t Waste Food: Eat Your Trash and Improve your Cooking of possible ways to cut back on your food waste. Perhaps we can all save enough money to help those who really need that food.
The Prayer of St. Brendan
Listen also to this rendition of St. Brendan’s Voyage
Here are the lyrics:
St. Brendan’s Voyage
Christy Moore
A boat sailed out of Brandon in the year of 501
’twas a damp and dirty mornin’ Brendan’s voyage it began.
Tired of thinnin’ turnips and cuttin’ curley kale
When he got back from the creamery he hoisted up the sail.
He ploughed a lonely furrow to the north, south, east and west
Of all the navigators, St. Brendan was the best.
When he ran out of candles he was forced to make a stop,
He tied up in Long Island and put America on the map.
Did you know that Honolulu was found by a Kerryman,
Who went on to find Australia then China and Japan.
When he was touchin’ 70, he began to miss the crack,
Turnin’ to his albatross he sez “I’m headin’ back”.
To make it fast he bent the mast and built up mighty steam.
Around Terra del Fuego and up the warm Gulf Stream,
He crossed the last horizon, Mt. Brandon came in sight
And when he cleared the customs into Dingle for the night.
When he got the Cordon Bleu he went to douse the drought,
He headed west to Kruger’s* to murder pints of stout
Around by Ballyferriter and up the Conor Pass
He freewheeled into Brandon, the saint was home at last.
The entire population came (281) the place was chock-a-block
Love nor money wouldn’t get your nose inside the shop.
The fishermen hauled up their nets, the farmers left their hay,
Kerry people know that saints don’t turn up every day.
Everythin’ was goin’ great ’til Brendan did announce
His reason for returnin’ was to try and set up house.
The girls were flabbergasted at St. Bredan’s neck
To seek a wife so late in life and him a total wreck.
Worn down by rejection that pierced his humble pride,
“Begod”, sez Brendan “If I run I’ll surely catch the tide”
Turnin’ on his sandals he made straight for the docks
And haulin’ up his anchor he cast off from the rocks.
As he sailed past Inishvickallaun there stood the albatross
“I knew you’d never stick it out, ’tis great to see you boss”
“I’m bailin’ out” sez Brendan, “I badly need a break
A fortnight is about as much as any aul saint could take.”
CHORUS
“Is it right or left for Gibraltar”
“What tack do I take for Mizen Head?”
“I’d love to settle down near Ventry Harbour”,
St. Brendan to his albatross he said.
And a beautiful animated version of Brendan’s voyage as related by children
Feature Photo: Brendan’s voyage via http://www.puzzlewarehouse.com/St-Brendan-the-Navigator-pur357.html
I never was able to do the splits. It hurts and doesn’t seem like it should be humanly possible. In many ways in life, I feel like I’m often trying to do the splits between the different worlds that I straddle–being ‘bridge-builders’ we call it at Tierra Nueva. Whether its Skagit and Seattle, charismatic and social justice, jail and the church ‘on the outs’, communities of new Mexican immigrants and primarily Anglo communities, and now India and the USA.
I now am home, or back in the US. Since I was born, I’ve actually felt at home in many places not represented by my passport. The differences, as always are stark…
I stand staring at Trader Joe’s cheese section–once again shocked by the choices
I walk the streets at dusk–amazed that I can go blocks without seeing a person or a moving car.
I throw my laundry into two different machines and its done in a couple of hours.
I drink from the tap, wash veggies from the tap, and brush my teeth from the tap.
I shower, whenever I want, with hot water–always.
And these are just the minor differences.
I don’t think I’ll ever get used to doing the splits. Sure the stark differences always fade with time, but I think it will always hurt a bit. Or at least can feel like I’m pulling at two different bungee cords, trying to connect them, and they’re not quite long enough so just keep snapping back to place.
I wrote the below poem while I was in India, living in a very different neighborhood, my heart breaking with the reality of thousands (millions?) of families living outdoors and thousands who sell their bodies day an
d night. Maybe by sharing these glimpses, I’m inviting you to hold these worlds in tension and help me bring them together.
India, will things change?
Will the homeless families who live on the streets ever move indoors?
There’s a couple who live outside just kitty corner to me,
Bedmat raised on bricks, Kali icon on the wall,
More bricks making a stove for breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Their home between two parked cars.
It’s getting cold. Even here.
Another family round the corner.
Thin blankets and cement sidewalks.
Body heat to warm the three small ones,
Huddled between ma and baba.
Her eyes look up at me as I walk by,
One afternoon after nap time.
Yes, I see you young one.
But I have no answers for you.
Only my cry to God: Have mercy, Come Jesus Come!
That is my refrain in this land,
As I walk by haunted eyes and haunting Kali temples,
Broken men curled up on sidewalks and dogs limping with broken bones,
Hungry faces…are they also hungry for change?
Or have they lost all hope?
India, will things change?
Across the street, 24-7,
Women of all ages ‘work the line’.
10,000 in this city,
Waiting for customers
Night after night.
“Live for today,
Today is all we have.”
I too want to live in the present,
But not without hope for restoration.
Come Jesus Come!
That is my refrain in this land,
As I try to ‘see from God to the problem, not from the problem to God’.
I’m hungry for change–for healing, restoring, reconciling Kingdom change.
So, Loving God, you who crossed the boundaries,
Come break again these dividing walls.
Originally posted at http://tierranuevabetania.blogspot.com/2014/02/its-been-whirlwind-of-return-for-me.html
Bio
Bethany Dearborn co-directs Tierra Nueva’s Family Support Center, coming alongside farmworker families as they navigate life in the US. She is also a member of the leadership council, a women’s jail chaplain, and is involved in local human trafficking and immigrant rights coalitions. She is passionate about participating in God’s Kingdom through engaging in holistic advocacy and discipleship of those who are marginalized by society; as well as mobilizing grassroots community efforts that address unjust systems.
She blogs at http://tierranuevabetania.blogspot.com.
I love this prayer attributed to St Brigit of Kildaire. Evidently she always had a great love for the poor which is very evident in this prayer
BRIGIT’S FEAST
I should like a great lake of finest ale,
for the King of Kings
I should like a table
of the choicest food,
for the family of heaven.
Let the ale be made
from the fruits of faith,
and the food be forgiving love.
I should welcome the poor to my feast,
for they are God’s children.
I should welcome the sick to my feast,
for they are God’s joy.
Let the poor sit with Jesus
at the highest place,
and the sick dance with the angels
God bless the poor, God bless the sick,
and bless our human race.
God bless our food, God bless our drink,
all homes, O God, embrace.
An Age of Hunger
by Lynne M. Baab
I have a short list called “books that changed my life.” The first book (chronologically) on that list is Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger by Ronald Sider. It came out in 1978, when I was 26 years old. The statistics about the number of people worldwide affected by hunger stunned me. My life was never the same afterwards.
For the first few years after reading the book I focused on living simply so my husband and I could give away more than 10% of our income. We gave to our church, to a number of friends who served in various ministries, and to Christian relief and development organizations which worked to help the hungry.
I worried about the effect of handouts on the people who receive aid. In the mid-1980s I heard about micro-loans, those very small loans that help people get small businesses off the ground or help them expand their already existing small businesses. The idea of micro-loans seemed wonderful to me, truly a hand up rather than a hand out. The organization that does mirco-loans the best then (and now, I believe) is Opportunity International, so my husband and I began to give money to Opportunity. Soon after that I began to serve on one of their boards, which I have continued to do off and on for more than 20 years.
When the disaster of September 11th happened twelve and a half years ago, I found myself thinking over and over about the fact that between 5 and 10 times more people died of the effects of hunger worldwide on that day than died in the twin towers. And the next day, and the next, the same number of people died again. We were rightly outraged at the number who died in New York. Where is our outrage about hunger?
Since I first read Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, the percentage of people worldwide 
affected by extreme hunger has decreased. So that’s good. But the actual number of people affected by hunger has increased, because the world population has increased so much. That’s bad.
How do we keep from being so overwhelmed by the scope of the problem that we are frozen into doing nothing? For me, focusing on one form of development work has helped, even though I know micro-loans are only one of many ways to address hunger. Education makes a difference, as do ministries and organizations that help improve health. When disasters strike, relief efforts are essential. All of those matter, and I’m delighted that Christians have supported and served in those areas. I have continued to give money, a bit of time, and my prayers to micro-loans. It’s wonderful to have one particular focus rather than scattering my time and energy widely. I still have moments when I feel overwhelmed by the needs, but having one focus helps with that form of discouragement.
During Lent, when we walk with Jesus to the cross, we remember the sin and injustice that took him there. We have enough food in the world to feed everyone. Poverty and lack of food are caused by political and economic realities that reflect sin and injustice. During Lent, I encourage everyone to think about the one form of relief or development work that excites you, such as micro-loans, health, education, disaster relief, etc. I encourage you to find a ministry or organization that works in that area, and to give your resources and energy to it as fully as you can. You’ll probably feel anger. You’ll probably feel frustration. You’ll experience the companionship of Jesus. The one who walks to the cross during Lent enters into every human need, including the struggle to find enough to eat. Jesus is there and we need to be, too.
Bio
Today’s post is written by Lynne M Baab. Lynne is the author of numerous books on Christian spiritual practices, including Sabbath Keeping,Fasting, and Joy Together: Spiritual Practices for Your Congregation. She teaches pastoral theology in New Zealand. Her website has numerous articles she’s written about spiritual practices, as well as information about her books.
surrounded by ordinary saints – Emmanuel Garibay
It is the beginning of the second week of Lent, the week that in our devotional A Journey Into Wholeness Is devoted to reflecting on issues of hunger and poverty. In past years Tom and I have engaged in the $2 challenging, restricting our food budget to $2/day for a week in solidarity with those who live on less than $2/day not just for their food budget but for their entire expenditure. This year we are not doing this.
In my Ash Wednesday post this year I commented Lent is not really about sacrifice and deprivation, it is about freedom and transformation and as I sit here reflecting on the horrors of poverty and chronic hunger, that is what comes to mind. Depriving myself and giving the money to the poor may alleviate their suffering for a moment, but what can I do that will change their situation permanently? How can I bring freedom to those who are bound by the injustices that create poverty? How can I help to transform the lives of those who seem to have no hope of enjoying the privileges I take for granted?
It’s not easy to always shop or live with the world in mind, but all my life decisions have consequences for others and often, by ignoring the issues, I condone the injustices under which God’s beloved children live. I can buy cheap clothing because Chinese garment makers work long hard hours for a pittance. I buy cheap food and enjoy cheap meals because many farm and restaurant workers do not receive a living wage.
Tom and I have already made some changes to our lifestyle that encourage more ethical living and help to provide for some who live at the margins. We buy fair traded shade grown coffee from Camano Coffee Roasters, partly because of their partnership with Agros International, a Seattle based community development organization that works to empower the poor in Central America. We also buy only fair traded locally produced Theo’s chocolate. We try to support local organic farmers and artisans and give generous tips in restaurants. I am also currently investigating ethical clothing companies. And we try to live simply and sustainably in order to reduce our carbon imprint and free up more resources to help those at the margins. Our goal is to give away half of our income each year.
But these seem like such minor changes and I realize the need to grapple with more substantial decisions that can have major consequences for our poorest neighbours. My question is what changes can I make over this season of Lent that will not only transform my own life and the way I live every day of the year, but the lives of others as well?
One area I have looked at is ethical or socially responsible investing which seeks to consider not just financial return but also social good. This has become a booming market in the last few years, but I struggle because it seems that financial gain is still often more important than social good. I also struggle with how to do that without replacing the bondage of slavery with that of dependency. How do we truly bring freedom and liberation?
One form of social investing that is very attractive to many Christians, microloans, is often geared towards the poor and seems to have the potential to bring freedom and liberation not just to those who live in poverty but to the rich too. I first learned about this form of transformative help when I worked with David Bussau of Opportunity International, on a document on the Biblical basis for micro finance in the early 90s. That document states:
A strong economic base provides the springboard for many dimensions of a family’s life. The provision of capital and income for a man who has been unemployed and ashamed of his inability to provide, often results in reconciliation of families that have been fragmented and separated. It can provide medical care for children whose parents were once denied this right and access to a decent education for children once forced into child labour. Families that have adequate income can provide the essentials of a decent life – shelter, nutrition, immunization, access to clean water and basic health care. These are all examples of the transformation Jesus would have advocated to see families restored to wholeness and abundant life.
I believe that we are called to consider the needs of others as more important than our own and above all else to strive to bring wholeness and abundant life especially to those who are poor and marginalized. Jesus showed particular concern for this segment of society, encouraging his followers to give up their possessions and give to the poor. Part of the responsibility of those of us who have resources is to share with those who have no resources. When we do this all our lives are transformed. South African Missiologist David Bosch expresses it well,
To become a disciple means a decisive and irrevocable turning to both God and neighbour…. In their being converted to God, rich and poor are converted toward each other.”
To be converted towards each other means that we are all transformed. The rich (and all of us who are middle class in Australia, New Zealand, North America and Europe, are rich) are transformed because we claim a new identity based not on the security of wealth and prestige but rather on the right and just relationships that are the standards of the God’s eternal kingdom. God sets the wealthy free to serve rather than control others and so devote their attention and wealth to the concerns of God’s eternal world of wholeness and abundance.
To the poor Jesus also offered a new identity – the opportunity to be free and responsible human beings with dignity and self-worth, able to serve God and others in society as God intended. By his words and actions, Jesus constantly demonstrated that the call of God’s eternal kingdom was to bring this kind of wholeness and abundance to to the lives of those at the margins. The equality Jesus envisioned was not a levelling down in which all became poor but rather a willing abdication of the rights of all so that through the practice of servanthood all might be fulfilled, live in harmony with God and develop fully the gifts with which God has endowed them.
So my question for all of us to consider this week is: How do we work for the wholeness and abundance of all God’s people and especially those at the margins? How do our decisions and actions set those who live in poverty free to be the liberated, fulfilled people God intends them to be?
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