This Sunday, as part of our Cornucopia of Commitment series, we will turn our attention to the inner weight of hunger. Hunger is not only a physical condition; it is an emotional and spiritual wound. To be hungry is to live in constant stress, to wake up every day with uncertainty, and to go to bed wondering what tomorrow will bring. For a child, hunger can feel like failure. For an adult, it can feel like shame. Yet hunger is not a personal shortcoming. It is a collective one.
Every psychologist, physician, and educator agrees that no child can learn while hungry and no adult can thrive while malnourished. Still, as a nation, we continue to remove free and healthy school lunch programs and cut resources that ensure our neighbors can eat with dignity. Instead of expanding access to nutritious food, we build more fast-food chains and allow food deserts to spread like a shadow across our cities. How did we arrive at a place where convenience and profit matter more than care? I thought it was “Blessed are those who hunger.” When did we forget that blessing implies responsibility, that the hungry are not meant to be ignored, but fed?
The mental and emotional toll of hunger is invisible, yet it shapes lives in profound ways. A hungry child carries stress that impairs learning and creativity. A hungry adult carries anxiety that makes every day an act of survival. When we speak of the psychology of hunger, we are speaking about despair, and our moral duty to transform it into hope.
This Sunday, we are honored to welcome Dr. Daniel Sheridan of No Reservations as our guest speaker. Dr. Sheridan will share a message about the interconnectedness of hunger, mental health, and community care. His words remind us that compassion is not abstract; it is a daily practice of seeing the needs before us and responding with empathy and courage.
As we gather, I invite you once more to bring nonperishable food for families in our community who need it most. Rice, beans, canned goods, pasta, boxed meals, and shelf-stable milk, every item makes a difference. The more we bring, the more we can give, and the more we embody the truth that love, when practiced boldly, is nourishment for both body and soul.
Let us be a people who refuse to accept a world where hunger exists alongside abundance. Let us fill our cornucopia until it overflows with compassion, care, and commitment, not as an act of charity, but as a declaration that every life deserves to be fed, body, mind, and spirit.
With gratitude and steadfast hope,
Rev. Dr. Harold Marrero
Minister, UUMiami