7th Century Syrian Monk St John Climacus said that, “Hunger is the stuff of prayer.”
October brings us to another Thanksgiving Day – and in our churches the celebration of Harvest Thanksgiving, in which we give thanks for the “fruit that comes forth from the earth” – often happily represented by a variety of gourds arrayed around the Altar (who doesn’t enjoy contemplating a fine gourd!?!?!) – and often with an invitation to contribute gifts of food for those who hunger.
The Altar itself is dressed in white for Harvest Thanksgiving – the colour pointing to the Resurrection Hope rooted in Jesus Christ as “the firstfruits from the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:20). In this context, the resurrection points to the prayerful anticipation of abundance for all – the Great Feast for all peoples (Isaiah 25:6).
We are invited to give thanks while knowing also that “Hunger is the stuff of prayer.”
Food Banks Canada “Hunger Report” from 2023 highlighted that in March of last year alone there were 1.9 million visits to food banks across Canada, which represents substantial increases over previous years — see: https://foodbankscanada.ca/hungercount/ — and connects to wider challenges touching on basic income levels and what counts as a living wage, housing affordability, and fair trade quality in the local economy rather than just ‘cheap food’. So many and varied, challenging issues – all front and centre now in our provincial election set for October 19.
You will perhaps have encountered Fritz Eichenberg’s woodcut depicting “The Christ of the Breadlines.” It is a striking image of Christ as simply present in the midst of hunger and poverty, standing with – waiting with – those in need, all the while radiating a gentle halo of light.
On Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday we do two things at the same time: We give thanks to God for the abundance of the earth, for work that is fruitful, for that which sustains us; and at the very same time we pray that God’s Kingdom will come in its fullness, that hunger and want will cease, that no one will go hungry. Of course, “to pray is to work” — “Ora et labora,” as St. Benedict put it. And “to work is to pray.” Hunger is the stuff of prayer because hunger is to desire something more – the fruit of the earth is beautiful, but it must also be used to fill bellies that desire food! It challenges us to acts of service and generosity, and invites us to evaluate the systems and structures we have built and maintain, and ask how the light of Christ might be cultivated within them for the sake of fruitful work and the dignity of being able to put bread on the table.
Jesus keeps inviting us to prayer: “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” At Thanksgiving, that prayer might best be heard as a prayer of hunger. It leads us in Jesus’ name to will and to work with thankful hearts and with hungry hearts.
