By: Brittany Fiscus-van Rossum
Psalm 146:5-10
Reflection—v. 7 ‘who gives food to the hungry’
I have always considered myself to be a terrible cook, and they don’t teach you soup-making in seminary. Now, writing a thoughtful sermon, speaking in public, or burying my head in enough books to write a compelling paper, I had the skills for. So for a while I thought I was doing just fine. But I didn’t realize how hungry I was. Before I was a pastor, I interned at Mercy Church to learn those hands-on essential skills for ministry. I remember quite plainly the words of Pastor Chad as I stood in Mercy’s cramped little kitchen watching him de-bone some chicken for soup. With apron dirty and greasy hands, he said, ‘If you want to do this work, it’s important to know how to feed people.’ That stuck with me. Because, you see, we follow a God who feeds the hungry and asks us to do the same—a God who when born into this world spent most of his ministry sitting down at table and sharing food. If you have ever spent time with our community (or taken the time to read our devotionals thus far), you must realize that Mercy is far from a soup kitchen. We’re a church congregation full of dynamic theologians and writers and creators and valued human beings, some of whom happen to be living with food insecurity. So we eat together and cook for one another, and it is essential. Do you ever find yourself hungering for the thing that satisfies? Come share a bowl of soup in community, and give praise to the God who feeds the hungry.
Prayer: Happy are we, for our hope is in you, O God, who feeds us!