First Collector: At this festive time of year, Mr. Scrooge, it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the poor and destitute. ... A few of us are endeavoring to buy the poor some meat and drink, and means of warmth.
Ebenezer: Why?
First Collector: Because it is at Christmastime that want is most keenly felt, and abundance rejoices. Now what can I put you down for?
I bet you recognize Ebenezer Scrooge, one of fiction's defining characters, and we know his answer to this request for a donation. NO! We all know this miserly fellow who is not overwhelmed (quite the understatement) with the Spirit of Generosity at Christmas. [dialog compliments of the imdb.com website]
For the good of all humankind, and the state of our own souls, it is a blessing that few people are as tight as Ebenezer Scrooge. Of the many ways in which folks celebrate the coming of the Holy One, feeding people is very popular. Sure there are lots of folks who wish to give fire trucks to little boys; a baby doll for every girl, but at the center of our giving, is the desire that no one be without the most basic of needs. So folks get fed through extra nice meals at feeding centers, and through many food baskets distributed among those in need. We cannot make everything all right forever but we can make sure folks are fed for a day. We can ease the hunger.
This was not the kind of hunger Matthew was speaking about in his beatitudes. Matthew wasn't focused on those who had missed a meal or two. He was talking about the searching for justice and righteousness.
Yet, perhaps, this Matthew has managed to meld the two. When you are deeply concerned about the hunger pains in another human being, you are experiencing a hungering for justice. When you contribute to the feeding of others, you are participating in righteousness.
Giving....generosity.......sharing. These are marks of a disciple, one who has been so touched by the love of God in Jesus that it just naturally overflows into the lives of others. This Advent, let's pay attention to what we hunger for.......and how we go about easing that hunger.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they will be filled." Mt 5.6
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