Lent, and a sugarless season. How much could we wish
to eat? Places under siege suffer starvation, while who even knows whether prisoners
and captives are fed? In times of dire unrelenting conflicts, abundance is unreachably
far. Is scarcity, not gluttony, the sin? The concept of gluttony is based upon
glut: filled to excess, not only more than you need but more than you can
contain.
A man walked into St Peter’s Bookroom where I
worked; he said not to bother the priests, but perhaps as someone from the
church I could answer a question about prayer. Is God frustrated or angry at so
many pleas? I said was a parent angry when the toddler kept pouring out
questions: “Why?” “Are we there yet?” God knows our limited understandings, our
big emotions. God knows about us. We Christians, I said, know two things about
God. God is good; God is love. Is not love patient, or kind? I said Jesus
taught the way of prayer: “Do you know it? ‘Give us this day…’” “Our daily bread,” he replied. “Keep it simple,”
I offered. Pray as you must. Daily bread is daily. Not too little; not too
much.
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