Instructor: Rev. Jenn Gingras
Scriptural References: Mat 14:13-21 & Mar 6:30-44 & Luke 9:10-17 (Feeding of 5,000); Mat 22:1-10 & Luke 14:15-24 (The Parable of the Wedding Banquet)
“More than 850 million people in the world go hungry. In developing countries, 11 million children die each year where 6 million is from hunger-related causes. In the United States, 12.4 million children live in households where people have to skip meals or eat less to make ends meet. That means one in ten households in the U.S. are living with hunger or are at risk of hunger.” - from the Bread for the World website
Lecture: It is a staggering and sobering truth - you and I have almost a billion hungry neighbors on this Earth. We can (and do) point to many causes for hunger and food insecurity: colonialism, underemployment, globalization, racism, politics, warfare, famine, educational disparity, etc., etc. The purpose of this study is not to debate these or any other reasons for global hunger. Rather, our purpose is to look at what the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) have to say on the topic and draw some conclusions about what it means for us in today’s context.
Introduction
Before we undertake this study, let us define and clarify the term “synoptic gospel”. The first three books of the New Testament are known as the synoptic gospels because of their similarities in stories, sequence and wording (literally, the term is derived from the Greek words for “together” and “seeing”). Scholars have argued the differences between these books for many years; this debate is often called “the synoptic problem” (a good example of this can be found in the nativity accounts of each gospel).
I like to think of the differences between the synoptics as less of a "problem" and more of an "opportunity". I'm not sure that the time and energy spent debating factual minutia in hopes of either “proving” a fundamentalist-literalistic interpretation through artificial agreement or “proving” a scientific-rationalist interpretation and therefore an inherent “falseness” of the gospel (as in, it must not be true because the facts don’t match up!) is always well spent.
I believe that when people retell stories, sometimes the details become fuzzy. Humans are prone to remembering “the big picture”. Sometimes, in the retelling of stories, it serves our purposes to place a greater importance on some details at the expense of others. The best and most current biblical scholarship maintains that Matthew, Mark and Luke were not written down immediately, but orally passed down from one community to another. Scholars estimate that these synoptic accounts of the life of Jesus were recorded after the Pauline epistles and the Gospel of John, probably between 70 -115 AD. Think about this…what might people say about your life 100 years after you lived it?
OK, I’ve jumped down off the soapbox, let’s get back on track. My point of view is that the themes and details in the synoptics are like threads in a larger tapestry, sometimes blending and at other times contrasting but always woven together as part of a larger work, a larger message. The Hebrew Bible clearly directs God’s people to care for the hungry, the widow and the orphan through the voice of many prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Micah, etc.) and the words of Law. Paul, in his instructive letters to the earliest churches, calls for equal access to resources such as food and shelter. In the synoptics, many of Jesus’ teachings point directly to the same Biblical messages. Now let's take a look at two stories as opportunities for discussion: the Feeding of the 5,000 and the Parable of the Wedding Banquet.
The Feeding of the 5,000 (Mat 14:13-21 & Mar 6:30-44 & Luke 9:10-17)
In Matthew, Mark and Luke, the story of the feeding of the 5,000 begins with Jesus and his disciples retreating to a quiet place to rest after hearing the news that Herod has beheaded John the Baptist. We might imagine this to be a particularly shocking and painful blow to the community. But retreat seems impossible due a large crowd pressing upon the group. Jesus takes compassion on the crowd and begins to teach and heal those who are sick. The hour becomes late, and the disciples urge Jesus to send the crowd away so they can buy food for themselves. In all three, Jesus replies to his disciples “you give them something to eat” (although Matthew adds “They need not go away,”). Mark shows the frustration of the disciples by adding what seems to be a smarmy response “what, should we go and buy 200 days of labor’s worth of bread and give it to all these people?” (…my interpretation). Five loaves and two fishes are found, the people are directed to sit (Mark and Luke have them neatly arranged in groups of 50). Jesus gives thanks and breaks the bread and distributes the meal. 5,000 men (plus women and children in Matthew’s account) ate and were filled, with 12 baskets of bread left over. All were fed, with enough left over. Rather than send the hungry away, or make excuses that nothing could be done for a crowd so large Jesus first thanks God, then distributes the available food. In two of the accounts the crowd was instructed to make smaller groups, was that so they could be accountable to one another for equal distribution? This story is often referred to as a miracle story. What if the real miracle was not that 5 loaves and 2 fishes fed such a large crowd but rather that everyone who had food with them was inspired to share with one another?
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet (Mat 22:1-10 & Luke 14:15-24)
This parable is a fine example of how sometimes the message is tweaked for the purposes of the writer. In Matthew, the first to be invited reject the invitation and the king destroys their city in return. The second people invited include everyone found on the streets (good and bad alike). These folks accept the invitation, but one of them does not wear appropriate attire and is summarily thrown out into the darkness. Allegorically, the first group represents the Jews, the destroyed city is Jerusalem, the second group is the church, and the man who is thrown out represents a sinner among them. Bernard Brandon Scott calls it a tale of “Jewish rejection, Christian acceptance and final judgment” (112). Matthew’s parable is of little use in our discussion of hunger and food insecurity because it focuses attention on the political situation of day (a common theme in Matthew).
Luke, however, tells the same story another way. It happens within the framework of a larger travel narrative, directly after Jesus imparts to his disciples important table manners. Specifically, the disciples are told that they should seek the lowest place of honor at the table, for “those who promote themselves will be demoted, and those who demote themselves will be promoted” (Luke 14:11). Luke’s story has two parts – an invitation to the wealthy (which is rejected), and an invitation to all “others” (which is accepted). Instead of a King, the banquet is set at the home of “someone”, an unnamed wealthy person with the financial means of throwing a large banquet. Judgment of who is “in” and who is “out” is pronounced at the end of the story. In a parabolic reversal of fortune, the wealthy people who are too self-absorbed and full of excuses to join the party are “out” and the poor, crippled, blind and lame are in. Here, as in other places in Luke, the first are last and the last are first.
Conclusion: The gospel calls us to love our neighbor as our self. We have pointed out only two instances appearing in the synoptics that might be linked to the issue of global hunger and food scarcity. Others abound. Are we called as disciples of Jesus Christ to care for the most vulnerable in our society? Will we accept the invitation?
What has the United Church of Christ said on this issue?:
From the UCC's national website, download and read http://www.ucc.org/assets/pdfs/jw8.pdf
Discussion Questions: Students may respond to the following questions in a comment to this blog or privately to the instructor or a pastor.
1. How might you re-tell the story of the feeding of the 5,000 for today's world?
2. What other themes or stories from the synoptic gospels speak to the current global crisis of food insecurity?
3. Describe concrete examples of positive action you have seen in response to the gospel message to feed the hungry. What are some other ways in which we could respond as individuals, local churches and the wider church?
Website of Interest:
Bread for the World: http://www.bread.org/
For further reading:
Cobb, John B. Jr. (ed), Progressive Christians Speak: A Different Voice on Faith and Politics, Louisville: John Knox Press, 2003.
Scott, Bernard Brandon, Re-Imagine the World: An Introduction to the Parables of Jesus, Polebridge Press, 2001.
Sider, Ronald J., Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity, W Publishing Group, 1997.
Throckmorton, Burton H., Gospel Parallels: A Comparison of the Synoptic Gospels, Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1992.
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