Super Bowl and Supper Bowl

There will be many sports fans and especially football fans whose eyes will be focused on Atlanta and a football game being held there in a few days.     Families and friends perhaps already have plans to get together and to feast on their favorite foods.   Some will be quite interested in the football game, while others will be more interested in the social gathering, food, or the television commercials.   We call that game the “Super Bowl” and it has been called the same for several decades.    This year,  my interest in the game is not particularly high due to the fact that the NFL team I follow, the Carolina Panthers, did not even make it to the NFL playoffs.

Whether you are an avid sports and football fan or not,  I invite you to not just think about the Super Bowl, but also the supper bowl.    A few years ago,  I began to hear about church youth groups that were having fund-raisers near the date of the Super Bowl that they called the Soupper Bowl.   Their point was to draw attention to a local, national, and global issue:  hunger.   While most of you reading this will have the ability to eat  more than you really need on Super Bowl Sunday, that same day there will be people in our community and beyond who do not have enough food to eat.  

World hunger is a large issue.   There are many reasons why children, youth, and adults will go to bed hungry tonight.    I will not take time to explore all the reasons partly because I believe it is a complex issue.  While some would like to avoid the issue by saying that all people are hungry because they are not willing to work, I contend that the issue is not that simple.    What I do know is that while many will be stuffing themselves with their favorite foods on Super Bowl Sunday, there will be many in this world who will not have a supper bowl before them.  

Since world hunger is such a large issue, it is tempting to do nothing.   As a follower of the One who fed the hungry long ago and proclaimed himself as the “bread of life”,  I urge you as I urge myself to do something.   While none of us has the capacity to eliminate hunger, all of us have the capacity to do something and get involved.  Help feed the hungry.    Take some canned food to a local food pantry or perhaps volunteer to help there.   Instead of waiting till Christmas to come around again to put money in the Salvation Army kettle, send them a donation now.    Find a way to make a difference.   This week, I invite you to not just focus on the Super Bowl, but also the supper bowl.   I guarantee you that a good feeling will linger in you long after the football season is over.  Have  a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:  Lord, we remember those in our community and world who live with the pangs of hunger.  Give us the compassion and the motivation to make a difference in their plight.   We pray these prayers in the name of the One who fed the hungry, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.