W E D N E S D AY, A P R I L 3 Psalm 53 | 2 Kings 4:1–7 | Luke 9:10–17 Many of us observe Lent by giving up something. We might give up a favorite food—candy or sugar-related foods in general, or perhaps meat. Centuries ago, this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere was the time in which people would naturally run out of the food they had prepared for storage in the fall. Eating in a sparse way made sense agriculturally as well as religiously. Many of us still give up certain foods during Lent even though almost everything is available to us in our local grocery stores. In an age of devices, we might give up Twitter or Instagram, or we might put our phones away for part of the day instead of carrying them with us all the time. The point is to feel like we are making a sacrifice of some kind, in order to feel in some small way the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. At least that is one interpretation of Lent. However, I am interested in our reading from the New Testament for today and what it might say to our practices during Lent. Our reading is the account in the Gospel of Luke in which Jesus feeds the 5,000. In a sense, this story is the opposite of our usual observance of Lent. This is a story about abundance and about feeding people so much that there is more left over than they started with. Why would this section of Luke be included in readings for Lent? I am sure there are multiple answers to this question, but I would like to explore this one: perhaps Lent is not only about giving up something, but it is also about making sure others have an abundance. We are very eager to be generous around Christmas. Maybe Lent also needs to be a time of great giving. What if we not only gave up our favorite foods, but also we made sure people who were hungry had more? I am not suggesting we stop our personal practices of self-sacrifice. We all might benefit from fewer hamburgers, cookies and tweets. But I am hoping we think beyond ourselves and consider ways we can sacrifice our time and money to create abundance for others, so that, as in the Gospel of Luke, “all ate and were satisfied.”
ANN COBLE, Lecturer in Religion College of Theology & Christian Ministry
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