Contrasts
16/01/14 05:28
Ours is a nation of contrasts. Perhaps this is true of any place where human beings gather, but this is the country I know best. There are plenty of stark contrasts when you think of what is going on around us.
On the one hand, January 14th was National Dress Up Your Pet Day. It wasn’t a big celebration around our house. Our cat prefers her own coat to any external garnets and that’s OK with me. I have no intention of trying to squeeze that animal into some kind of costume. She is sharp at every turn and I’m sure she wouldn’t mind making me bloody were I to try to put her into clothing. But I guess that there are plenty of people who put costumes on their pets and took pictures to display on Instagram and other sites. My guess is that the day was more popular with dog owners than people who have fish for pets.
The next day, January 15 is the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Although the official celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. day isn’t until Monday in keeping with the pattern for national holiday recognitions, it made sense to at least think of Dr. King on his birthday. He is, of course, best known as a civil rights activist and events surrounding the recognition of the holiday focus on community service, working for justice and keeping alive the dream of a country that is not so racially divided. I remember that Dr. King was also a pastor. His work had its foundation in his call to serve the people of God in worship and pastoral care. His first honorary doctorate was awarded by the school where I earned mine. His passion for the Bible and theology were at the core of his work for justice.
You have to admit that there is a stark contrast between National Dress Up Your Pet Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
There are many other contrasts.
Last night the youth in our church were working with a contrast to which they have been drawing our attention for several years. On the one hand ours is the richest and most successful nation in the world. On the other hand an estimated 672,000 people sleep on the streets every night in our country because they have no home. Of the industrialized nations of the world, ours has the highest rate of child poverty. 15.9 million children live in food insecure households in our country. If you walk into any supermarket in our land you will be overwhelmed by the amount of food choices we have - the most choice of any nation in the world. And yet children in our communities go to bed hungry. Perhaps nowhere in the nation is that contrast more evident than in our corner of the world. Last week I visited partners on two different reservations and witnessed the stark contrast between rich and poor communities in relatively short distances.
The contrast of which our youth remind us every year, however, isn’t between the rich and the poor in our own community, but rather the contrast between the amount of food needed to feed hungry people and the amount of money spent on junk food in just one day. Last year over 108 million Americans watched the Super Bowl. Most of them did so surrounded by chips and dips and drinks and excessive amounts of finger foods. Each year newspapers devote more space to recipes for Super Bowl parties than to coverage of child hunger in our nation.
The youth in our church, joining with youth groups a lll around the nation simply want to remind us that a small adjustment in the formula could make a big difference. If everyone watching the Super Bowl would donate just $1, that would mean over 100 million dollars to feed hungry people. $1 per person wouldn’t make much of a dent in the mounds of snacks and appetizers, but it would make a huge difference in nutrition for hungry children.
Our youth challenge us to be aware of this contrast and to participate with them in doing something to make a change. Change starts with awareness. With the cost of running advertisements during the broadcast of the game, you can be sure that agencies serving homeless and hungry people won’t be putting their resources into that method of getting out the news. At $4 million per 30-second commercial, the companies behind Doritos and Bud Light will spend more money on a single game than the total operating budget of Church Response in Rapid City since its founding in 1972.
At our church we have embraced the contrast. We have worked for years to encourage fans of the game to make worship an integral part of the day. We do a lot of fun activities that acknowledge the big game and encourage those who watch to include prayer and scripture in their day as well as statistics and game clothing.
Once again the youth of the church will be standing at the door with soup pots to collect contributions to support local agencies that feed hungry people. While any size donation is gladly accepted, the emphasis is on small gifts - the kind of gifts the youth themselves will make. $1 per person can make a huge difference on Super Bowl Sunday.
We live in a nation of contrasts. The contrast between rich and poor is stark and real. This was also true in Jesus’ day. The disciples of Jesus have been following in his footsteps into the places of poverty and hunger for as long as the church has existed. The Gospels Matthew, Mark and John all report that Jesus once reminded his followers that poverty is not going to go away. “For you always have the poor with you,” he said.
The youth of our church are not asking us to fix all of the problems of the world. They aren’t asking us to end poverty.
They are, however, reminding us not to ignore this reality. They are asking us to be aware of those among us who have real needs.
Quite frankly, their reminder is the best part of Super Bowl Sunday for me.
On the one hand, January 14th was National Dress Up Your Pet Day. It wasn’t a big celebration around our house. Our cat prefers her own coat to any external garnets and that’s OK with me. I have no intention of trying to squeeze that animal into some kind of costume. She is sharp at every turn and I’m sure she wouldn’t mind making me bloody were I to try to put her into clothing. But I guess that there are plenty of people who put costumes on their pets and took pictures to display on Instagram and other sites. My guess is that the day was more popular with dog owners than people who have fish for pets.
The next day, January 15 is the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Although the official celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. day isn’t until Monday in keeping with the pattern for national holiday recognitions, it made sense to at least think of Dr. King on his birthday. He is, of course, best known as a civil rights activist and events surrounding the recognition of the holiday focus on community service, working for justice and keeping alive the dream of a country that is not so racially divided. I remember that Dr. King was also a pastor. His work had its foundation in his call to serve the people of God in worship and pastoral care. His first honorary doctorate was awarded by the school where I earned mine. His passion for the Bible and theology were at the core of his work for justice.
You have to admit that there is a stark contrast between National Dress Up Your Pet Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
There are many other contrasts.
Last night the youth in our church were working with a contrast to which they have been drawing our attention for several years. On the one hand ours is the richest and most successful nation in the world. On the other hand an estimated 672,000 people sleep on the streets every night in our country because they have no home. Of the industrialized nations of the world, ours has the highest rate of child poverty. 15.9 million children live in food insecure households in our country. If you walk into any supermarket in our land you will be overwhelmed by the amount of food choices we have - the most choice of any nation in the world. And yet children in our communities go to bed hungry. Perhaps nowhere in the nation is that contrast more evident than in our corner of the world. Last week I visited partners on two different reservations and witnessed the stark contrast between rich and poor communities in relatively short distances.
The contrast of which our youth remind us every year, however, isn’t between the rich and the poor in our own community, but rather the contrast between the amount of food needed to feed hungry people and the amount of money spent on junk food in just one day. Last year over 108 million Americans watched the Super Bowl. Most of them did so surrounded by chips and dips and drinks and excessive amounts of finger foods. Each year newspapers devote more space to recipes for Super Bowl parties than to coverage of child hunger in our nation.
The youth in our church, joining with youth groups a lll around the nation simply want to remind us that a small adjustment in the formula could make a big difference. If everyone watching the Super Bowl would donate just $1, that would mean over 100 million dollars to feed hungry people. $1 per person wouldn’t make much of a dent in the mounds of snacks and appetizers, but it would make a huge difference in nutrition for hungry children.
Our youth challenge us to be aware of this contrast and to participate with them in doing something to make a change. Change starts with awareness. With the cost of running advertisements during the broadcast of the game, you can be sure that agencies serving homeless and hungry people won’t be putting their resources into that method of getting out the news. At $4 million per 30-second commercial, the companies behind Doritos and Bud Light will spend more money on a single game than the total operating budget of Church Response in Rapid City since its founding in 1972.
At our church we have embraced the contrast. We have worked for years to encourage fans of the game to make worship an integral part of the day. We do a lot of fun activities that acknowledge the big game and encourage those who watch to include prayer and scripture in their day as well as statistics and game clothing.
Once again the youth of the church will be standing at the door with soup pots to collect contributions to support local agencies that feed hungry people. While any size donation is gladly accepted, the emphasis is on small gifts - the kind of gifts the youth themselves will make. $1 per person can make a huge difference on Super Bowl Sunday.
We live in a nation of contrasts. The contrast between rich and poor is stark and real. This was also true in Jesus’ day. The disciples of Jesus have been following in his footsteps into the places of poverty and hunger for as long as the church has existed. The Gospels Matthew, Mark and John all report that Jesus once reminded his followers that poverty is not going to go away. “For you always have the poor with you,” he said.
The youth of our church are not asking us to fix all of the problems of the world. They aren’t asking us to end poverty.
They are, however, reminding us not to ignore this reality. They are asking us to be aware of those among us who have real needs.
Quite frankly, their reminder is the best part of Super Bowl Sunday for me.