Nativity Catholic Church
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Hunger in the Land of Plenty: I should have known better than to head to the mall for a few “quick” stops the other night! After all, my destination was serving up a dangerous cocktail of back to school shoppers and tax-free power buying! Needless to say, the place was swamped, and my visit was anything but quick. As I stepped into the main fairway of the mall, I almost pulled my too-many-people-waiting-for-a-table maneuver—a speedy about face when I anticipate that my "table for two" dinner will actually be served by tomorrow morning’s breakfast! But, I was determined not to back down in fear from the hordes of children and grumpy teens that were covering every square inch of space like ants at a gourmet picnic spread—and so I forged ahead. While walking past a store whose window mannequins seemed draped in rags similar to those I just dusted my furniture with earlier in the day, I caught sight and sound of a mother and teenage daughter in stage three of a violent argument. Obviously, even to the untrained eye and ear, these two had been going at it full tilt, were completely exasperated, and clearly ready to toss one or the other over the edge of the escalator steps. Of course, it was all over the impossible task of finding adequately styled clothes for the beginning of school. While I personally have not had the displeasure of engaging in this annual rite of passage, I have been privy to lots of tears and fears about it. Even in schools with strict uniform codes, back to school wardrobe purchases can still create significant angst, as there never seem to be enough properly striped (or non-striped) sneakers to go around Central Florida. What tugged at my heart, as I faintly listened to the argument and watched the blood pressures rising, was this exchange of words: Mom: I cannot believe…in this entire mall…you haven’t been able to find at least ONE outfit to wear for next week! We’ve looked everywhere—now what are we going to do? Daughter: You are so mean! I can’t help it—there’s nothing here! And that was the clincher! “There’s nothing here!” In one building, with more merchandise than a person can find in an entire third world country, this shopper’s lament was: “there’s nothing here!” But let’s not jump only on the teenager’s case—all of us have probably uttered these same words while bubbling over in despair, standing in the midst of an absurd amount of plenty! Throughout the Gospels, Jesus, like the prophets of old, particularly Isaiah, sets out to smash to pieces the LIE OF SCARCITY. From not enough love to go around to enemies, to not enough compassion for the disinherited, to merely “five loaves and two fish” to feed multitudes of mouths after a long day of preaching and teaching—Jesus confronts our misguided notion of what is enough. How often do we come up against the LIE OF SCARCITY in our own lives? Not enough firepower to squelch terrorists. Not enough food to feed the poor in Africa—after all, they just misuse our help anyway. Not enough money for equal educational opportunities in our communities. Not enough vibrant and engaged parishioners to ignite a tempest under the pews of our parish. Not enough patience to create a balanced household. Not enough of the “right” people to settle down with in a loving, life-giving marital relationship. Not enough caring teachers to guide me toward my goals in life. Not enough bandages to heal my broken heart. Not enough “I’m sorry” to make me let go of the hurt. Not enough… Sometimes, it is the very overwhelming wealth that surrounds us that blinds us to the truth on the other side of the lie of scarcity. We become so nonplussed by the enormous amount of products and choices and option set before us that we are paralyzed. And in our paralysis, we have nothing else to say but…”there’s nothing here!” In the various renditions of the “loaves and the fish” accounts in the Gospels, there is never any mention that somehow, the loaves and fish (which are accounted in various amounts, depending upon the evangelist) are miraculously replicated or multiplied. All that is said is that when these gifts are turned over to the Lord, and people are called to take responsibility for whatever it is that they have and possess, there will always be more than enough—fragments a plenty left over for those who will continue to be in need after the feasting takes place. While Jesus’ apostles want to fan the flames of the lie of scarcity—“all we have are a few loaves and couple of fish”—Jesus douses that misguided fire and invites them to partake in the only “miracle” available—people serving one another in communion with God. Hanging our heads in guilt over our greed and the silliness of saying, “there’s nothing here,” will not advance the Gospel and the Reigning of God. As the followers of Christ, we are invited to share our gifts—in whatever amount they may be. To turn them over to the Lord, who clearly has banished the word “scarcity” from God’s vocabulary, and who must smile on our foolish, greedy self-indulgences, while at the same time nudging us to push past these sins. Hunger in the land of plenty? Is the problem a lack of goods—or is the problem a lack of distribution? When Jesus fed the multitudes, the miracle they experienced was one of communion—a communion of wealth where everyone responded to the invitation: “You give them something to eat!”
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