Daily Bread

On Tuesday morning we welcomed two volunteers from the League of Women Voters as they set up a voter registration desk in our front driveway. The weather could not have been nicer and within ten minutes of setting up they had registered two new voters and provided information to several others. We reached out to the League several weeks ago, asking if they would be available to come during food pantry hours, thinking this could be a great service to people who might be new to the area or who, for whatever reasons, might not yet be registered voters. The ability to exercise your right to vote is one of the most valuable assets citizens have in a democracy, and this begins with proper registration.

In Sunday worship we are just about to wrap up 5 weeks of gospel readings from John 6 about Jesus as the “bread of life,” our daily bread. Every Sunday in the Lord’s Prayer, we ask God, “Give us this day our daily bread.” In his Small Catechism, Martin Luther explains what he thinks daily bread means: 

Everything included in the necessities and nourishment for our bodies, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, farm, fields, livestock, money, property, an upright spouse, upright children, upright members of the household, upright and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, decency, honor, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.  

These good things are all gifts from God, part of the abundant life God desires for each of us. In a democracy, “good government” and “upright and faithful rulers” begin at the ballot box, when voters make thoughtful and well-informed decisions.  Providing access for fellow citizens to vote is as much a part of “daily bread” as the pantry staples and fresh produce we offer through our food pantry.

As we worked together setting up the canopy and table and chairs where they would sit, the LWV volunteers marveled at the food pantry—both the number of neighbors helped and generosity of donors and volunteers who make the pantry possible. They talked about all the places where they’ve been welcomed to set up voter registration drives and the number of volunteers their work requires.  One of them commented, “If we could take a bird’s eye view, the philanthropic activities happening every day in Wilmington would be awesome to see!” 

These acts of neighbor-love and neighbor-empowerment are exactly the work Jesus calls us to and trusts us with. Like the loaves and fishes he shared, the smallest acts of community service and goodwill have a way of multiplying beyond what we might imagine, bringing us closer to that day when God’s will is done on earth, just as in heaven.

May God continue to bless our neighbors as we deepen our commitment to love, to invite, to serve.

Pastor Sue