Perhaps you too heard Ofeibea Quist-Arcton’s report yesterday on NPR about the expanding food crisis in Zimbabwe that ended with this profoundly disturbing image:
Farmers, villagers and townsfolk alike say that some Zimbabweans are reduced to plucking undigested corn kernels from cow dung, which they wash, pound and then cook. That could be tonight's supper.
As I assume the patriarchal role at tomorrow’s Thanksgiving feast I will be sorely remiss if I fail to bring this horrifying truth to the attention of those gathered, even at the risk of spoiling a few appetites. We Americans have earned an “ugly” reputation in much of the world through our indifference and self-centeredness, and it is probably deserved if we fail to think beyond our own four walls.
Yes, we have so much to be grateful for. But such gratitude is empty if it does not consider “the least of these.” No, we’re not going to be able to box up tomorrow’s dinner and send it to Zimbabwe, but we can reverently consume the abundance that is ours to fuel a spirit of genuine compassion that will not rest easy until the feast is shared with all.
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