John 6:5-7, 10b– He said to Philip, Where are we to buy bread, so that all these people may eat? But He said this to prove (test) him, for He well knew what He was about to do. Philip answered Him, Two hundred pennies (forty dollars) worth of bread is not enough that everyone may receive even a little…..so the men threw themselves down, about 5,000 in number (AMP).
Whew! A dollar doesn’t go as far as it used to! Forty dollars to feed 5000 men and their families? Remember when food bucks went a few more times around the block? They still can. The trouble is that most of us have lost the art of food recovery.
John 6:12–When they had all had enough, He said to his disciples, Gather up now the fragments (the broken pieces that are left over) so that nothing may be lost or wasted (AMP).
North Americans waste more food than the rest of the world eats, and then we say we can’t help the poor. We shop because ‘we have nothing to eat’, while ignoring full freezers. We take too much food, and then discard the remains. We toss out bits of meat, veggies and smidges of gravy that could be the basis of fine stew or yummy hash. We buy canned soup when penny-wise satisfying servings could simmer in a crock-pot while we work. One gal I know collects and freezes those bits, eventually heating and serving them as ‘Garbage Soup.’ It’s different every time, but it’s always delicious.
Prayer: Lord, check our spending habits. Help us be creative when we ‘gather up.’ For your sake and the sake of those less fortunate. Amen.
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