Biblical Reflection
Read Luke 4:16-21
Jesus announced his ministry with words from the prophet Isaiah, “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.” (Luke 4; Isaiah 61)
What kind of good news was Jesus announcing? It was good news of forgiveness from sin, of the promise of eternal life, of restored relationships with God and others. And it was also news of tangible improvements in the lives of poor people. Jesus was bringing freedom from conditions that trap people in poverty, hunger, disease, and powerlessness.
The Spirit of the Lord is clearly at work in today’s world, moving the nations to dramatically reduce hunger, poverty, and disease. In 2000, 189 countries adopted eight Millennium Development Goals to reduce hunger, poverty and disease by 2015. Despite recent setbacks due to a steep rise in food prices and a global recession, concerted efforts to reach these goals have been great news for millions of hungry and poor people.
Who is involved in this global good news effort? It begins with the efforts of poor people themselves, committing energy, imagination, and hope to create a better future for their children. It includes businesses and non-governmental organizations, wealthy country governments and poor country governments, Christians and people of other religions or no religion. All are working together to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
As followers of Christ, we are bold enough to say that it is God, working through all of these efforts, who is bringing good news by delivering millions of people from hunger and poverty. As members of Christ’s body, we share his anointing to bring good news to a hungry world.
Reflection Questions
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From what you have read in the Bible, including these verses from Luke 4, what do you understand to be God’s attitude toward people who are poor? Toward poverty?
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How have you seen God working in our world today to meet the tangible needs of poor people?
Hunger Report Theme Summary
Hunger is often a result of natural causes. But sometimes it is also a result of the misguided policies of both donor and developing countries. Misguided policies worsened the impact of the most recent surge in global hunger. Beginning in the 1980s, donor countries and institutions cut development aid for agriculture programs. Donor countries encouraged developing country governments to reduce their own spending on agriculture, arguing there was greater potential for economic growth by investing in other sectors of the economy. The prevailing view was that economic growth would increase incomes, which would increase purchasing power. But since such a large share of the world’s poor people lives in rural areas and earns a living from agriculture, the neglect of the agriculture sector left millions of people in hunger and poverty and vulnerable to the surge in global food prices.
Discussion Question
Given a vision of God at work delivering people from hunger and poverty, how can we make sense of the recent setback?
Activities
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As a full group, review what the Hunger Report says about the causes and impact of the food crisis of 2008-2009 (p. 14—graph and paragraphs 1 & 3 of the Makings of a Hunger Crisis section; p. 16—paragraph 1 in the Why Food Price Shocks? section).
Divide participants into five groups. Have each group read about and discuss a different factor that caused the surge in food prices and contributed to the hunger crisis.
Group reading assignments:
a. fuel prices—3 paragraphs, p. 16-17;
b. restricted grain exports, graph on p. 16 and paragraph 2 on p. 17;
c. climate change/drought, 2 paragraphs beginning in the center of p. 17;
d. speculative commodity trading, 2 paragraphs at bottom of p. 17–top p. 18;
e. biofuel production, 2 paragraphs, p. 18 and 20.Write “food prices affecting hungry people” in the middle of a page of newsprint or on a whiteboard. Have each group describe its contributing factor and add it to the newsprint to graphically depict what affects food prices. Then, as appropriate, draw lines between some of the causes to depict the interacting relationships of factors that impact food prices. (For example, changes in climate and increased fuel costs cause more interest in biofuels that are made from grains, thereby pushing up grain prices).
Discuss how these factors work against good news for poor and hungry people. What changes in policy are needed to address these causes and get back to good news?
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As a full group, rewrite the Luke 4 passage for today’s global setting and economic situation. For example, what would “setting the captives free” look like in today’s world? What would be good news for poor people?
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As you conclude, pray for efforts to support sustainable development and consider if there is something God might be calling you to do as a result of this conversation.
The Millennium Development Goals
- Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger
- Achieve Universal Primary Education
- Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women
- Reduce Child Mortality
- Improve Maternal Health
- Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases
- Ensure Environmental Sustainability
- Create a Global Partnership for Development
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