Daily Lesson for September 21, 2016

Today's Daily Lesson comes from Luke chapter 4 verses 1 through 4:

 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’”

Yesterday a friend reminded me of the end of Dorothy Day's autobiography "The Long Loneliness", her story of the genesis of the Catholic Worker and its work among the poorest of the poor in New York City. Day's profound insight was her understanding that we are all poor in some deep way and therefore all in need of connection.  She closes her book with these words, "We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community."

Jesus was famished after 40 days in the wilderness. The devil came with the idea to turn the stones into bread. It would have filled Jesus' stomach.  But Jesus knew it would not have filled his deepest hunger -- the hunger for love and connection which always comes with community. This is the bread which must be kneaded, baked, prayed and fussed over, broken, and finally shared.  It is the bread that, in the words of the Communion liturgy, must not only be taken but also given. This is the only bread that sustains. This is the bread of life.

On Saturday at 4pm St Benedict's Chapel will host our grand opening and ribbon cutting on our new building at 1615 28th St. It's a ministry to the homeless and the working poor and our mission is to feed body and soul.  And my prayer is that with good music, BBQ, hot dogs and hamburgers for the kids, and so-called rich and poor folks all enjoying the afternoon together, this party might be a sign of good things to come on these new grounds.  My prayer is that we'll all realize we have a little something to give and a little something to take away -- in body and also in soul.

We do all know the long loneliness. A full stomach can't cure it. But a full house might.