ShareFaith Reflection
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There is no need to exclude others from the table to ensure our fair share; there is plenty for all if we fairly share. In 1 Corinthians 11:20–29, Paul reprimands the Corinthians for celebrating communion in an unworthy manner. Apparently, the wealthy were feasting while the poor went hungry. Paul admonishes them to “discern the whole body,” that is, to remember the entire community, before coming to the table. How might we discern the whole body in the context of today’s food and agriculture system? The Jubilee economy laid out in Leviticus 25 offers some suggestions. Jubilee established a mandatory gleaning operation, a micro-credit lending institution and a land redistribution program every fifty years. In the days of the Israelites, possession of the means of production meant power; and then, as now, a supersized portion for some equaled disempowerment for others. Re-assigning vines and fig trees every generation ensured a fresh start and an equal voice for everyone in the community.
Today, wealthy families and giant corporations control most of the world’s productive acres. Farmers lose their ancestral land, cities swell with disempowered people. But, as the prophets promise in Scripture, redistribution is a sign of the kingdom. “I will not again give your grain to be food for your enemies, but those who garner it shall eat it and praise the Lord” (Isaiah 62:8–9).
Giving up surpluses so that others won’t be left with scraps? It sounds like “discerning the body,” it looks like Jubilee and it just might be the gist of the gospel.
Excerpted from the MCC Washington Office Guide to Food and Farming.
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