RENEW OUR FOOD. Bible study

Transcription

1 RENEW OUR FOOD Bible study 1 Photo: Ralph Hodgson/Tearfund

2 GETTING STARTED Take a few moments to think of your favourite meal. What is it about this meal that makes it your favourite? Is there something about the people you share it with, or the times you eat it? Is it a family favourite, or a new discovery? Food is central to who we are. Yet very rarely do we remember that the food we eat connects us to people across the world from farmers, to shopkeepers, to family members, and above all to God. Food is relational. Is it possible that our relationship with food is broken and needs to be restored? JOHN 6 Read John 6:1-13 This will be an extremely familiar story to many of us. It is one of two miracle stories to be included in all four of the gospels, which gives it a particular significance. When we read this story we tend to give all our focus to the feeding of the 5,000, a miracle worthy of our admiration. But we often skip over the part that comes next: the clear up operation. At first glance it can seem very uninteresting, however God teaches us a very important message here. Read John 6:12 again Why do you think Jesus thought it important to gather what was left over and save it from being wasted? Do we ascribe the same value to our food that Jesus showed here? 2 Photo: Marcus Perkins/Tearfund

3 We know that the leftovers were gathered but we do not know what the disciples did with them next. Whatever happened, Jesus gave this food value and that influenced the actions taken. This should prompt us to think about our own attitudes to food, and whether the values we hold influence our own actions. The crucial point is that the leftovers were a part of the story. Globally, we waste around a third of all food produced. In a world where so many go hungry, this can t be right. But Jesus shows us another way to live. By gathering up the pieces, we can break this wasteful food cycle. It s time to make the leftovers part of our story too. EXODUS 16 This is another story of God s provision. God promised the Israelites that he would provide their daily bread each and every day (verse 4). He told them that there would be enough for that day, and that there would be enough to gather double the day before the Sabbath (verse 5). Do we trust God to provide us with our daily bread, and do we trust that what he provides is enough? We live in a culture where we produce more than we consume. This wasteful cycle has a big carbon footprint, making climate change worse and leading to more droughts and floods and less reliable rain. How can we choose to live out this principle of gathering enough for today and trusting that there will be enough for tomorrow? In these two stories about food, we see God teaching his people principles of trust, provision, and gratitude. All of these approaches remain important for us today. The way that we eat, share and value food can be an act of worship to God. Our consumer culture has the ability to commodify everything; it disconnects us from the story and background of where items came from. All food comes at a social, economic and ecological cost, but this is hidden from us when we buy it. When we do not know the true cost of our food, it is easy to throw it away. But God is intentional about teaching his people the value of food, and what having a good relationship with food looks like. 3

4 GETTING PRACTICAL We can all take our own steps to gather up the pieces. If all of us in the UK stopped wasting food from our homes, it would have the same environmental benefit as taking one in four cars off our roads. And if supermarkets took action too on what they waste, the impact could be multiplied out, from farm to fork. THE RENEW OUR FOOD PLEDGE As Christians, we can pledge to take simple, everyday steps to reduce our food waste at home and in our churches. And as customers, we can increase our impact by asking our supermarkets for more ambitious action too. We can make the most of our food at home by: Refusing to buy food we don t need Reducing the amount that goes into our landfill bin Sharing our tips for limiting food waste Where we shop can make a difference too. Supermarkets have a powerful role to play in reducing food waste. For instance, they can relax their strict cosmetic standards that lead to extensive crops being wasted. They can also stop encouraging customers to buy more than they need, such as through, buy one, get one free, offers. We are asking supermarkets to play their part by halving their food waste by 2030, in line with the UN Global Goal on food waste. Take action here: 4

5 GO DEEPER AND HOST A FOOD WASTE FEAST: Spread the word! Hold a Food Waste Feast at your church or in your community to get others involved. Find out more here: PRAYERS Loving God, we thank you that you are a relational God; that you long to renew our relationships with you, with others and with your beautiful creation. We thank you that you are at work to renew and restore your world. Help us, by the power of your Holy Spirit, to play our part in renewing your world too. Amen. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen. O God, to those who have hunger, give bread, and to those of us who have bread, give a hunger for justice. Amen Church Road, Teddington TW11 8QE tearfund.org/action E campaigns@tearfund.org T