“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.”
This expansive list was Martin Luther’s description of the “daily bread” that sits at the center of the seven petitions of the Lord’s Prayer. It’s a good list, don’t you think? Is there anything missing or something that you would want to add? I would probably want to add “a reliable WIFI connection” to an updated version of Luther’s catechism, for so much of my ability to acquire much on that original list seems to require the internet.
For the coming four weeks, our life together will have us considering much of what constitutes “Our Daily Bread.” Each week we’ll encounter a different story of food and feeding. This week’s reading features the wilderness diet of God’s people which sustained them for 40 years. That God remains faithful to God’s people by providing daily nourishment sits at the heart of the human-divine relationship. This dynamic was built into creation and continues still today.
To remember that it is the nature of God to provide for us and to nourish us so that we might thrive can serve as a helpful guardrail along the journeys we take each day. Indeed, we are charged with the daily task of gathering up what we need and God assures us there will be enough. Not only for us but for our neighbors as well.
This question of how much is enough is sits at the heart of human sinfulness as well, and it’s one of the places where it’s so easy to get off course. So many in this world have so far from enough while others possess exponentially far too much. As you ponder Martin Luther’s list of daily bread today, let’s wonder how God might expect us to be tending differently as we’re gathering up what we need.
May God’s peace come to you this day. -Pastor Peter
Let us pray…
“The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living creature. Amen.”
Table Blessing, Luther’s Small Catechism