|
Homily for World Food Day – Holy Eucharist
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Today, we gather not only to celebrate the Holy Eucharist, but also to mark World Food Day, a global observance established by the United Nations to raise awareness and action for those who suffer from hunger and to promote food security for all.
This year, the numbers are staggering: 720 million people around the world are considered to be extremely hungry. That’s nearly one in ten people on Earth. And behind each number is a story—a mother skipping meals so her children can eat, a farmer watching crops fail, a refugee unsure where the next meal will come from.
Much of this hunger is not accidental. It is the result of conflict, such as in Gaza, Sudan, and South Sudan, where war has disrupted food production, destroyed infrastructure, and displaced millions. Hunger follows violence like a shadow.
Climate change is another driver. Droughts, floods, and unpredictable seasons are devastating small-scale subsistence farmers, especially across the Global South. These are families who live close to the land, who grow what they eat—and when the land fails, they go hungry.
And tragically, the nations with the most resources—the U.S., the U.K., Germany, France, the Netherlands—have dramatically cut their assistance to less developed countries and to civil society agencies like our own Anglican agency, Alongside Hope, which works faithfully to support the poorest of the poor.
There is a bitter irony here: food-producing families are more likely to be hungry. And among the hungry, women and children suffer most.
But this is not the will of God.
Our first reading, from 1 Kings 19, shows us a God who sees the needs of his servant Elijah, exhausted and despairing in the wilderness. What does God do? He sends an angel—not with a sermon, but with bread and water. “Arise and eat,” the angel says, “for the journey is too much for you.” God meets Elijah’s physical need before anything else.
Food is a sacred theme in Scripture. In Genesis 12, Abram and his family face famine and must journey to Egypt. In the Gospels, Jesus shares meals—with tax collectors, sinners, disciples, and crowds. He feeds the 5,000 in Mark 6, not just to show his power, but to show his compassion.
In Isaiah 58, God tells us what true worship looks like: “Is not this the fast that I choose… to share your bread with the hungry?” In James 2, we are warned that faith without action is dead—especially if we say “go in peace” to someone who is hungry, but do nothing to feed them.
The Eucharist itself is a meal—a holy meal that reminds us of God’s provision and calls us to be people of provision. We receive the body of Christ so that we may become the body of Christ in the world.
So what does this mean for us today?
It means we cannot turn away. We must be advocates, donors, volunteers, and prayers. We must support agencies like Alongside Hope, who work in the hardest places. We must speak up when governments cut aid. We must care about climate justice, because it is food justice. And we must remember that every act of compassion—every loaf of bread shared—is a holy act.
Our Gospel Reading from John 14 concludes with Jesus saying, “Believe me that I am in the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.”
Likewise for us as Christ followers, our deeds, our actions, especially with regard to the poor, the hungry, whether on the streets or in the homes of Delta and Surrey, or around the world, … our actions are the proof of our message that Christ is Lord.
Let us be people who live the Eucharist—not just on Sunday, but every day. Let us be people who say, with our lives, “Arise and eat,” to those for whom the journey is too much.
Because God does not want anyone to go hungry. And neither should we.
Amen.
Sermon by Jet Takaoka from Canadian Foodgrains Bank
| 
