Feeding the Birds: A Reflection

One of the many things that Denise and I enjoyed about our time at The Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani where Thomas Merton was a monk was the view from the guest dining room at the monastery. The windows looked out onto a beautiful garden that was full of various types of bird feeders which attracted quite a variety of birds. As we ate our meals in silence, we were able to enjoy being with our feathered friends as they ate, sang, bathed in the birdbath, and flew around in the garden. I think that between our walks around the monastery grounds and watching from the dining room we identified by sight or sound, about 23 different varieties of birds and birdsong. Our experience at the monastery encouraged us to get our own bird feeders (three so far) and invite our feathered neighbors to dine a while with us. We haven’t had the variety that we saw at the monastery but we have drawn a wonderful little group of birds (so far, a male cardinal, male and female house finches, a tufted titmouse, sparrows, and chickadees).

Today I was watching the feeder when a squirrel shimmied up the post, leaned its head over, and began eating birdseed. I moved towards the window and it scampered away after getting some seed. We haven’t decided how we are going to squirrel proof our feeders and, frankly, I have seen very few methods that end up outsmarting the squirrels! So I guess the squirrel too is an invited guest at the bird seed feast.

This past week I have been studying and reflecting on this Sunday’s scripture readings from 2 Kings 4:42-44 and John 6:1-21 which both address the miraculous feeding of crowds with a limited amount of resources (Elisha fed 100 people in the 2 Kings reading and Jesus fed 5,000 in the reading from John). While our bird feeders may not be feeding that many birds, the act of feeding the birds (and the squirrel!) does make me consider the wonders of sharing our resources with others.

For years I have heard stories and jokes about having “things.” Specifically I have heard conversations amongst guys about their cars, trucks, boats, jet skis and how many are enough. The joke was that the guy with the most toys in the end wins. Then there was the Christmas letter that I read years ago in which the couple talked about their “year of acquisitions.” In that letter they talked about how many things (property, cars, toys, etc.) each member of the family (including their young children) had acquired. It made me wonder… seriously the year of acquisitions? How much is enough and when does it turn into greed and materialism? There are so many other stories about who has the most or the best or the most expensive thing. When I was younger I remember hearing the phrase “keeping up with the Jones’s.” The race to see who could get the newest and best car or boat or lake cabin. The funny thing was, no matter how many “things” you acquired in your race to keep up with the Jones’s you were never satisfied. It was never enough.

In the story of Elisha, the prophet was given a gift of food from the offering of the first fruits. The gift was twenty loaves of barley and a sack full of fresh ears of grain. When Elisha told his servant to share the food with the people and let them eat, the servant said, there isn’t enough. Elisha repeated what he had said before: give it to the people and let them eat. He then added the following to his statement: for thus says the LORD: They shall eat and have some left. So the servant put the food before the people and they ate… and they had leftovers!

In the liturgy for Passover, the synagogue worshippers sing a song called “Dayenu.” This Hebrew word means it is sufficient or it is enough. As the worshippers recall the exodus from Egypt the song reminds them that what God provided in the wilderness was sufficient. The manna that God provided to the Israelites each day was enough for them to eat. When God provided two days of manna for the Sabbath, it was sufficient, Dayenu. When the people tried to hoard the manna, it turned rotten and wormy. They learned over their forty years of wilderness wandering that God would provide and that God’s provision would be sufficient, Dayenu.

In the case of Elisha and the feeding of the 100, the offering was sufficient and so much more. Turning to the gospel lesson from John 6, we read the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. After a busy time of healing and teaching, Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee with his disciples. I’d imagine that since the day of Passover was near that he probably wanted to spend some time with the disciples and prepare for the observance. But the crowd kept following and as they approached, Jesus asked Philip Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat? Philip replied that even though they had two hundred denarii (for a laborer that would be four months wages) it wouldn’t be enough to feed the gathering crowd. We don’t have enough! Andrew, listening in on the conversation said, There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people? Four months wages, five barley loaves, and two fish aren’t sufficient to feed the crowd. Yet Jesus, in a way similar to Elisha, gave what they had given him to the crowd and they ate their fill. AND, they had leftovers! Once again, what Jesus provided was more than sufficient, Dayenu.

In both of these stories we see the fear of not having enough. We also see how God can and does provide. We also see how God can use us to provide enough for others. The boy with the loaves and fish and the man with the barley loaves and grain offered all that they had. By sharing what they had, their gift was greatly multiplied and others were cared for. Because of their gifts, others could say it was sufficient, Dayenu.

So what about us today? According to the United Nations some 25,000 people (including 10,000 children) will die from hunger and related causes. Some 854 million people worldwide are estimated to be undernourished, and high food prices may drive another 100 million into poverty and hunger. (Source) Yet in this country and others, a portion of the population has more than enough. I know that Denise and I have more than enough. We have plenty to eat, a warm house and roof over our heads, cars that run without problems, and a monthly income that is more than sufficient. But we also know that we are privileged and that with that privilege comes greater responsibility. How can we provide for others out of our abundance?

Pope Francis said the following during his General Audience at the Vatican in 2023:

We should all remember, however, that throwing food away is like stealing from the tables of the poor, the hungry! I encourage everyone to reflect on the problem of thrown away and wasted food to identify ways and means that, by seriously addressing this issue, are a vehicle of solidarity and sharing with the needy… when food is shared in a fair way, with solidarity, when no one is deprived, every community can meet the needs of the poorest. Human ecology and environmental ecology walk together. — Pope Francis, General Audience (June 5, 2023) from Feasting on the Gospels: John, Volume 1, Chapters 1-9

Isn’t this the challenge to those of us who have more than enough? This is a question that truly haunts me–what can I do in the face of such hunger? What can I do in the face of the warfare and killing that is going on around the globe on a daily basis? I know at least one part of the answer and it begins with me. As the old campfire song says: It only takes a spark to get a fire going and soon all those around can warm up in its glowing. That’s how it is with God’s love, once you’ve experienced it. You spread God’s love to everyone, you want to pass it on.

In other words, it begins with me and with you, dear reader. The changes we can make in our own lives and the encouragement we offer through our own social justice and peacemaking work are the beginning. May that work, that beginning, be Dayenu, may it be sufficient, and may it continue as we give witness to the abundance of God’s love, grace, mercy, and peace.