“‘BOMB CYCLONE’ BLASTS THROUGH CENTRAL US”[i]
This was a Thursday morning headline from CNN’s website, highlighting the historic late winter storm that swept across a great portion of the central part of the United States during the middle of this week that saw lots of people being affected by blizzards, flooding, and hurricane-force winds.
Here in the Northwest corner of Minnesota, we started preparing for the coming of this historic “storm of the century,” as it was being called, a full day before it was supposed to impact us. In the days leading up to the storm we were being told to expect up to 18” of possible snow combined with hurricane type winds gusting up to 70+ miles per hour. With these conditions threatening to keep us cooped up in our homes for a day or more we all headed out to stock up on the provisions we would need to get us through. As anyone can probably guess the two places that got targeted most by people preparing for the storm were the grocery stores and the liquor stores. Whenever big storms come around, with warning ahead of time, whether in the Midwest or on the Coasts, people always make sure to stock up on bread, eggs, and other staple foods. And of course, most cannot forget about grabbing a 12 pack, or two, to help get them through those few days cooped up at home. This was no different for us here in Northwest Minnesota this time around for this historic Bomb Cyclone, and I am sure it was the same for most other places this storm affected.
As a society as a whole, when we get into this preparedness mode, we generally tend to get tunnel vision of sorts and begin to only think about what we need to get through the storm and pay little to no attention to the most vulnerable people in our society who may not be able to get prepared themselves. I am embarrassed to admit that for this storm I too was among the general population who thought to make sure I had enough provisions, food and otherwise, to last my family and I for more than a few days that we could have been affected. I did not give a single thought to those in my own community who may not have been able to do the same; those on the fringe of society for whatever reason. It is sad to say that we as a society, myself included, do indeed try to live by “bread alone,” despite what Jesus says in last Sunday’s gospel lesson from Luke.[ii]
In this gospel text, Luke 4:1-13, Jesus finds himself, after being baptized, being led by the Spirit into the wilderness for a 40-day period of temptation. During these 40 days Jesus did not bring any provisions with him, with the text telling us that he “ate nothing at all during those days.”[iii] It was at the end of those 40 days that we are told that the devil used that fact as a way to tempt Jesus; to lure him away from the ministry he was about to embark on. The devil simply points out to Jesus here that as the Son of God he surely has the ability to turn a rock into a loaf of bread if he wanted to do so.[iv] On the surface this may not seem like that great of a temptation, but knowing that the devil is trying to trick him into using his power for his own benefit, Jesus replies, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’”[v] Jesus quotes Scripture here, specifically Deuteronomy 8:3; a text that was meant to remind the Israelites of God’s provision for them in their own wilderness where they wandered for 40 years before coming into the promised land. It was a warning for them to never forget God, especially in the midst of their prosperity. In fact, this is a common exhortation that is found in scripture, for even this past week’s assigned Old Testament lesson gives a similar exhortation. In that same Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, God is giving the people instruction on how they are to give thanks for their prosperity when they finally do come into the land that God had given them.[vi] In their prosperity the people of God are to “take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground … put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for [God’s] name.”[vii] Once the tithe has been made, they were to have a celebration in honor of all that God had given to them and to their house.[viii] But this celebration was not meant to be for just them; they are to invite the Levities, that is their religious leaders, as well as the aliens that reside among them.[ix] In the next verse, which is outside of the assigned text for the day but still pertinent, that list is expanded to include orphans and widows as well.[x] Basically, in their prosperity, they are to make sure to take care of more than just themselves. They must remember that they do not live by bread alone, but live by the generosity that comes from God, which in turn allows them to be instruments of God’s generosity towards others.
As a whole, the people of these here United States, are a prosperous society. Most of us have more than what we need to live; most of us, in the face of an impending storm, for instance, have the ability to go and stock up on essentials and non-essentials alike and do not even think twice about doing so. There are, however, those in our society – in our own communities – that are not as fortunate. We have our own “Levites, aliens, orphans, and widows” and it is our responsibility to make sure they are taken care of as well. But how do we do so effectively, some may wonder? I am sure that we all know someone who is vulnerable, especially in the face of an impending storm. Perhaps an elderly neighbor, or a family with young children with no other source of support nearby, just to name a few. Outside of this, however, the easiest way would be by supporting the local social service agencies that are already at work in our community doing this very thing. Now I know what a common rebuttal to this statement will be; for in the midst of the current political climate it is a statement I have heard over and over again. There are many who have no problem helping those that actually need help but refuse to help out those they feel that are just plain lazy. They feel that by supporting these local social service agencies they are just enabling some within society to just milk the system for all they can. Unfortunately, there are those who misuse and abuse the system in this way. But there is research that shows that for the most part people who use these services are people who actually need them, use them only when they need them, and have at one point have paid, currently are paying, and/or will in the future pay into them through taxes.[xi] The fact is that by not supporting these types of services, yes, we can insure that we are not supporting the small percentage of those that would abuse them, but we are also then not supporting the larger percentage of those who are most vulnerable in our communities who do really need them and rely upon them.
My friends, Jesus rightly points out in the midst of his temptation from the assigned gospel lesson, that we do not live by bread alone. That is to say that we do not live by our own prosperity, but by that which God has given to us. As such we should give thanks to God, and give back to God; specifically, in the form of making sure the most vulnerable of our communities are taken care of as well. Whether that be in the face of an impending storm, or just in every day life. After all that is the way God always intended society to function.
__________________________
i. “’Bomb cyclone’ Blasts Through Central US,” CNN, March 14th, 2019, https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/14/weather/gallery/midwest-bomb-cyclone-0313/index.html (accessed March 15, 2019).
ii. Luke 4:4 (NRSV)
iii. Luke 4:2 (NRSV)
iv. Luke 4:3 (NRSV)
v. Luke 4:4 (NRSV)
vi. Deuteronomy 26:1 (NRSV)
vii. Deuteronomy 26:2 (NRSV)
viii. Deuteronomy 26:11 (NRSV)
ix. Ibid.
x. Deuteronomy 26:12 (NRSV)
xi. Joy Moses, “The Facts About Americans Who Receive Public Benefits,” Center for American Progress, December 16, 2011, https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/reports/2011/12/16/10767/the-facts-about-americans-who-receive-public-benefits/ (accessed March 15, 2019).
