“And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” (Luke 3:10-11)
Paul Iruna, a member of our Hungerfree launch team & Kenya native, shared this passage with us recently as we started to share the HungerFree campaign.
In an age with so many opportunities and enough food to feed everyone, we still have people in most parts of the world going hungry each day.
Jesus talks about the poor an astonishing 407 times. Many times the red letters are Jesus’ call for us to share, to give, to gather on behalf of people in need, and many of the stories we all love in the Bible are around a table, a place where all are welcome. Jesus frequently spends his time reclining at the tables of tax collectors, sinners and Pharisees. The table is an opportunity to connect.
For over 40 years young people have gone without food to experience hunger firsthand and raise funds for programs addressing hunger in World Vision’s 30-Hour Famine.
Considering that so many of us live in abundance, we decided that instead of going without as we’ve done in the past, we would honor Jesus’ call in Luke 3 a different way: by celebrating the food we’ve been given and using it to feed others.
We can give from our abundance to where there is not enough, enjoy the bounty we’ve received and give it away at the same time. Share a meal and quality time with our loved ones so that others might do the same.
It is our prayer throughout the HungerFree movement that as we gather round the table together to share a simple meal, we’ll experience gratitude for our abundance in a way that leads us to give everyone in the world the opportunity to gather together, break bread, and be nourished at the table by both food and community.
I encourage you all to take just five minutes to check out this video and learn more about how you can get involved with HungerFree on October 16. I encourage you to gather with your community in order to feed our global community, so that we can be Jesus to the world – reclining at the table together to give everyone the opportunity to share a meal.