READ Matthew 6:7-15
“Give us this day our daily bread.” Matthew 6:11 NRSV
The New Living Translation reads this way: “Give us the food we need today.” In November, I helped the Texas Methodist Foundation and the Fishes and Loaves Ministry in Austin. After making what seemed like hundreds of sandwiches, we loaded up the truck and headed out even though it was chilly, rain was forecast and it had been raining off and on all day.
At each stop, the homeless, mostly men, came up to get a sandwich, piece of fruit, and a small bag of cookies. Fishes and Loaves also offered a pair of clean socks, but placed no limits on sandwiches. Also available were t-shirts and sweatshirts while the supplies lasted. Even though these men didn’t know when or where their next meal would come from, they asked for one or two sandwiches—usually one meat and one peanut butter. They asked for only what they needed for the day, just as the Lord’s Prayer says we should do. Damp and chilled by the rain on the outside, my heart was warmed by the faith of these men.
When I see material excesses in many ways of the holiday season and observe the hoarding of food when we get a simple cold snap in the weather, I think of the homeless and the faith that they must have to live day to day. In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus goes on to say that we shouldn’t worry about anything, really. In my own life, after looking for two years unsuccessfully for employment with a college-bound daughter and with retirement looming, I sometimes get anxious about the future as well as the present. When I do, I remember Jesus’ promises in Matthew and the prayer that he taught us to pray, and am reassured that he will give me what I need.
Cindy Weigand
