Common Good

Common Good

Feeding the Hungry

Scripture References

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Old Testament

Psalm 146:5-10

5 Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD, his God,

6 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps truth forever;

7 who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The LORD frees the prisoners.

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8 The LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD raises up those who are bowed down. The LORD loves the righteous.

9 The LORD preserves the foreigners. He upholds the fatherless and widow, but he turns the way of the wicked upside down.

10 The LORD will reign forever; your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!

New Testament

John 6:1-14

1 After these things, Jesus went away to the other side of the sea of Galilee, which is also called the Sea of Tiberias.

2 A great multitude followed him, because they saw his signs which he did on those who were sick.

3 Jesus went up into the mountain, and he sat there with his disciples.

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4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.

5 Jesus therefore, lifting up his eyes and seeing that a great multitude was coming to him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, that these may eat?”

6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.

7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may receive a little.”

8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him,

9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these amongst so many?”

10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in that place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

11 Jesus took the loaves, and having given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to those who were sitting down, likewise also of the fish as much as they desired.

12 When they were filled, he said to his disciples, “Gather up the broken pieces which are left over, that nothing be lost.”

13 So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves, which were left over by those who had eaten.

14 When therefore the people saw the sign which Jesus did, they said, “This is truly the prophet who comes into the world.”

Thought for the Day

Psalm 146 blesses the one who hopes in the Lord, and then lists what that hope looks like in the world: justice for the oppressed, food for the hungry, freedom for prisoners, sight for the blind, lifting for those bowed down. It is not a sentimental faith. It is a faith that expects God to act, and therefore trains us to notice those who are being crushed.

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In John 6, Jesus sees a great crowd and does not treat their hunger as a distraction from ministry. He receives the little that is offered, gives thanks, and breaks it. The verb the Gospels use is eucharisteō: gratitude spoken aloud, before the loaf has multiplied. Then there is enough, and more than enough, and the fragments are gathered so that nothing is wasted.

To feed the hungry is to honour God’s likeness in them. It is to refuse the quiet cruelty of scarcity as normal. Sometimes it looks like emergency help; sometimes like fair wages, stable benefits, patient casework, and long-term provision. Often it looks like someone simply being seen.

Lord Jesus, teach us to give thanks and to share. Bless those who grow, transport, cook, and distribute food, and those who make decisions that determine whether cupboards are full or empty. Give us hearts that do not turn away, and hands ready to offer bread with reverence.

Prayer Points

Respond
  • Provide food and daily dignity for those who are hungry, ashamed, or exhausted by need.
  • Strengthen workers and volunteers in food provision with joy, safety, and endurance.
  • Give wisdom to leaders and officials shaping welfare and employment, that provision is humane and fair.
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  • Teach us to share without patronising, and to receive without contempt or fear.
  • Make our communities attentive to hidden hunger, and generous in ordinary hospitality.