“Souper” Bowl of Caring Sunday
February 7, 2021/5 Epiphany
Isaiah 40:21-31; Psalm 147:1-12, 21c; 1 Corinthians 9:16-23; Mark 1:29-39
Today is Super Bowl Sunday….
I would say most people know a thing or 2 about today’s match up and what had to happen in the past year to be one of the teams playing in this final championship game this afternoon…
Perhaps you have a favorite team you are rooting for? Kansas City or Tampa Bay? Maybe you have a favorite player on one of the teams?
Growing up in New England…you can probably guess who my family and friend’s all time favorite team and player is….this year they get to root for their favorite player…even though he’s not on their beloved New England team anymore!
I confess, I’ve never really followed football…but when it comes to Super Bowl Sunday, I always at least know who the 2 teams are, find out who is singing the national anthem, who is doing the half-time show, and other special details surrounding the event itself….I usually tune in for a bit, to watch those highlights…and there’s actually been a few times, when I turned on the tv for the 4th quarter, and noticed it was a really close game, and actually watched until the end! It didn’t take long for me, to see how it is that people can become so engrossed in watching football….(especially when your team is close to winning!)
Today though, we are turning our attention towards another Super Bowl event…a lesser known one….and one that calls our attention to the needs of the hungry among us…
In 1990, Souper Bowl of Caring began with a simple prayer from a single youth group: “Lord, even as we enjoy the Super Bowl football game, help us be mindful of those without a bowl of soup to eat.” (tacklehunger.org)
One simple prayer that inspired an action to address the needs of the hungry and the poor…the ones who are often forgotten, the ones we don’t always choose to know more about, the ones we just assume will be taken care of by somebody else, or some other organization…
Jesus reminds us often…that the poor, the sick, the hungry…are people we should be mindful of…they are beloved children of God, who live among us in our local communities, who live in other states and countries that often feel so far removed from us…but in the family of God…they are indeed, very near to us… They are among the children of God, who need to hear and believe that the Good News of God’s love and healing is proclaimed for them too….
We are the hands and feet of Christ now…we need to make it our business to know…to know about the needs of the hungry and the poor, to understand the needs of the hungry and the poor, and to seek and find ways to act upon this knowledge…so that one day…we can live in a world…where none of God’s children would be hungry…hungry for food, or hungry to know God’s love for them…
In our Gospel reading today, Jesus has just recently emerged from the wilderness after his baptism, and his thrust into beginning his public ministry….he has called his first disciples…and he is now just at the very beginning of teaching the newly called disciples what it looks like to follow Jesus…
He shows them, by his actions, its about proclaiming the Good News of God’s love, by going to those in need of healing…and he also shows him, that there needs to be a time away for prayer, to connect with God, once again…to be reminded of who God is, and who we are, to align our vision with God’s vision of abundance, enough for everyone… for all people, for our neighbors, near and far, for those who are chronically poor and hungry….and then go…go out into the world…to work towards bringing an end to hunger and poverty in our time…
Can you imagine a world without hunger?
That’s always, always, always the challenge before us…
That’s always, always, always the vision we can work towards bringing to fruition….a world without hunger…
In God’s kingdom…it is always, always, always our business to be mindful of the needs of the hungry and the poor among us.
There are many ways, local and worldwide, to learn more, and find ways to help in this important area of ministry…
Bread for the World - https://www.bread.org/
Episcopal Relief and development – episcopalrelief.org
Manna Meal
Sitka Mutual Aid
Farm to family food boxes
Local Food banks
Just to name a few…
Imagine if we could work and strive towards achieving an end to hunger and poverty in our time, putting forth the same effort it takes for a football team to win the Super Bowl each year…
Let’s do more than imagine it…let’s put all of heart, soul, spirit and strength…into accomplishing it…with God’s help, following in the footsteps of Jesus, and being sustained and strengthened by the Holy Spirit, for the long season ahead of us…
Today, on Super Bowl Sunday, we have the opportunity to begin again with this simple prayer…
“Lord, even as we enjoy the Super Bowl football game, help us be mindful of those without a bowl of soup to eat.”
Rev Julie Platson
St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church
Sitka, Alaska
Hymn after sermon: (H) 567 Thine arm, O Lord, in days of old
Thine arm, O Lord, in days of old
was strong to heal and save;
it triumphed o’er disease and death,
o’er darkness and the grave.
To thee they went, the blind, the deaf,
the palsied, and the lame,
the leper set apart and shunned,
the sick with fevered frame.
And lo! thy touch brought life and health,
gave hearing, strength, and sight;
and youth renewed and frenzy calmed
owned thee, the Lord of light:
and now, O Lord, be near to bless,
almighty as of yore,
in crowded street, by restless couch,
as by Gennesaret’s shore.
Be thou our great deliverer still,
thou Lord of life and death;
restore and quicken, soothe and bless,
with thine almighty breath:
to hands that work and eyes that see,
give wisdom’s heavenly lore,
that whole and sick, and weak and strong,
may praise thee evermore.