From an online sermon by Rev. Dr. Trace Hawthorn

Sermon for August 30, 2009
Scripture: James 1:17-27; Mark 7:1-8

For the next five weeks our lectionary lists the book of James for our epistle lesson. Although I may not focus each of these weeks on James, I do plan to include this book in our worship/preaching through September. The book of James has been quite controversial in terms of being included in the canon—the writings approved by the church hierarchy to be the Bible. Martin Luther was especially opposed to James writing as Lutherans and others believe that faith-- trust in God’s steadfast love--is the only requirement for salvation. This belief is referred to as “salvation by faith alone”. Paul also emphasizes that we are put right with God through God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ, and not by works. Another reason for criticism of this epistle is that Christ is not emphasized; in fact the words appear only twice and there is no reference to Jesus dying on the cross to pay for our sins, no mention of baptism or what God’s grace means. With James it is very clear that one needs to do works in order to be a Christian.

The authorship of James has also caused a fair amount of disagreement; however, most scholars say he was James, the younger brother of Jesus; the same James that was the first patriarch in the church in Jerusalem, a leader of the earliest church there.

This letter of James is a letter of action. James tells the Christians to be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to become angry and to be doers of the Word! The way Petersen puts it in the Message is: “Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear.” He goes on with saying, “don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear!” James than tells his church members what real or true religion is: Anyone who sets himself up as “religious” by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.” In most versions of this text the words are—Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” In those times widows and orphans were the main types of people that were poor. Due to the patriarchy and the social codes, women without a husband or children without a father would have little or no financial resources. Even today that is so true in many of the developing countries. In general this is a phrase referring to all oppressed people.

In James’ church there were many wealthy folks who wanted to profess their faith but were not interested in caring for the poor. In this short book there are five paragraphs negative about wealthy Christians, more per page than in any other book, e.g. in today’s reading: "Let the believer who is lowly boast in being raised up, and the rich in being brought low, because the rich will disappear like a flower in the field.” Of course those words wouldn’t have anything to do with most of us! Or would they? As Christine Villa says in Still Speaking Devotions, "Rich” is relative. I'm fabulously rich compared to some people and pitifully under-funded next to others. So let's say someone with far fewer resources than I have is reading this scripture. What kind of person comes to their mind when they read "the rich”? Do they picture a house like mine, a car like mine, or a grocery cart filled like mine? Maybe so. What do you think of when you read the passages about the rich? I picture folks with millions of dollars in the bank, fancy houses in prestigious neighborhoods, several cars including a Lamborghini. Well could it be that some of these remarks about the rich do apply to some of us?

Looking at our gospel reading, Jesus had a similar problem with the Pharisees, who are focusing on things such as dietary laws, asking why he and his disciples ate without washing their hands, or eating things from the market without washing them. Jesus responds by saying that Isaiah was right, that “these people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me.” Jesus told the crowds that there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile. Even though the Pharisees knew the scriptures, tithed their income, even dropping coins into the begging pot, they did not care for the widows and orphans, the prostitutes, the blind, the lepers, and other outcastes in the society at the time. Jesus is saying that the Pharisees get too wrapped up in things that don’t really count. They did not practice hospitality to the stranger, or take time to meet the needs of the down and out! They did not have real religion. The prophets in the Old Testaments like Micah, Amos and Isaiah said the same thing. Do not oppress the outcasts; furthermore all rituals and liturgical sacrifices are worthless without constant love, justice, kindness and walking humbly with the Lord.

I heard a story about St. Francis of Assisi1 “He was praying in an ancient church that was badly in need of repair. He heard a voice from a crucifix which was over the altar saying, “Francis, go and repair my church that you will see falling into ruin.” Francis went to get his tool chest, but he soon realized that the voice of God was referring to some thing else. The voice of God again said, “Not the bricks, Francis. The people are in need of repair.” Then Francis went out and took care of orphans and widows. The voice of God still speaks today and says, “Francis. Peter, Christine, (etc.) Go and repair my church which is falling into ruins.” And God is not talking about bricks and mortar.

What are we doing in this church to care for the “widows and orphans”? Besides the money we give to the many denominational appeals and local agencies, we have had several members travel to hurricane-affected areas to work with others to rebuild homes; we provide various material things, plus our interest and supportive presence at the Women’s jail in Goffstown, through our Deacons fund we help folks with rent who otherwise might be evicted; we pay utility bills and provide fuel and repairs on cars; we visit people in their homes that are lonely, sick, or have special needs; we provide both money and food for the Weare and Hillsboro/Deering Food Pantries; some of you assist with refugee families; others minister to the GLBT community and those who love them though PFLAG; we are in the process of gathering items to be sent to Zimbabwe where there is always so much need. All of you that do these and similar things are being doers of the Word.

One last caution, be sure not to interpret “widows and orphans” too narrowly. The place you may be called to be doers of the word could be with someone in your own household, your child, your parent, your spouse, or your rich neighbor, who is lonely and estranged from all his family. You just never know when you will have the opportunity to be doers of the word as James commands.

My son has composed a song called “Mystery and Wonder”, where he talks about the hard financial times he’s having in his life and all the pain he sees around him. He says he wants to make love to the whole wide world; however, maybe that’s not the way. Then he has these lines:

And I want to take all that on
While I’m buying groceries on credit
So
I’m singing to 5 of you,
Sometimes it’s 50
500’s a really big score
Maybe I should cool it
But I can’t help myself
I keep talking myself
out of pain
And I really can't see another way
Everywhere I go I see
people in need of mystery and wonder
Everywhere I go I see people in need of
dreamers and blunders
Everywhere I go I see people in need of magic and
grace
Everywhere I go I see people in need of love

So I say to you: Every day we see people in need of mystery and wonder, magic and grace. Everyday we see people in need of love. Real religion has many parts; faith without action or action without faith just won’t do. Every day we have that opportunity to be kind, to listen, and to bring gentleness to someone. Let us take a few moments of silence right now to see if God brings anyone to our mind who needs our ministering today. It may be someone in a pew not too far from you. Let us pray: Gracious and Holy One, let us listen right now to you. Let us ask each day for you to lead us to someone who needs some care, some love, some company. (silence) Thank you Jesus and brother James. Amen

1 Edward Markquart, Sermons from Seatle

Choose This Day Whom You Will Serve

Sermon for 8-23-09
Scripture: Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18; John 6:56-69

Choices, choices, choices! In our country we have many choices and sometimes we really like being able to choose; other times it’s so darn hard. Our scripture lessons for today both show choices about whom to follow, whom to serve. Let’s first look at the reading from Joshua. The only thing most of us know about Joshua is that he “fit the battle of Jericho and the walls came tumbling down.” According to one of my resources there is no evidence at all of a battle in Jericho, nor of the Hebrew conquest of Israel. According to this archeologist, the Hebrew tribes were one of many tribes in the area and their ways and religion gradually displaced those of the other tribes residing there.

By the way, I decided to look up the relationship of the words Hebrew and Israelites and found that Hebrew became the name of the Israelites. Its origin is not cultural or racial but social and political. “It seems that the word "Hebrew" became a general word for everyone the powerful viewed as social outcasts and troublemakers. It was a pejorative nickname applied to those who caused problems. Cultural identity made no difference… The new followers of Joshua and the Moses-tradition also were "Hebrews." In those days, during the upheaval that overthrew the kings and the cities and finally gave the land to farmers, the name Hebrew became associated with those who rebelled in the name of Yahweh.”1

We are told in Joshua 23 that a long time had passed since the battles and the Lord had given rest to Israel from their enemies. Joshua was old and well advanced in years. (v.1). Joshua gathered all the tribes together and they presented themselves before God just before they were about to go into the Promised Land. Moses had died and Joshua took his place as Israel’s leader. His people were looking for marching orders, instructions on what to do next. But Joshua doesn’t just do that; he recounts with them the whole history of God working in their lives. He reminds them exactly how they got to where they were right then, a history of God’s protection and love. At the end of this history lesson, Joshua tells the people to revere the Lord and serve him in sincerity and faithfulness; however, he says, “If you do not wish to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve…but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (v.16)

Now let’s go to our gospel lesson, the 5th and final week that our lectionary has chosen the 6th chapter of John with the many comments of Jesus about being the bread of life as well as his miracles in feeding the multitudes with 5 loaves and two fish. In today’s reading Jesus talks about eating his flesh and drinking his blood. He says whoever eats this bread will live forever. Many of his followers said that this teaching was too difficult and they turned away, leaving only the 12 apostles.

Many times in our life of faith, we find things that are too difficult, so difficult that many decide to leave either that particular church or that denomination or just stop believing in Christianity, Islam, and so forth.

Let me tell you a story about a man who joins a monastery and takes a vow of silence. He's allowed to say two words every seven years. After the first seven years, the elders bring him in and ask for his two words. "Cold floors," he says. They nod and send him away. Seven more years pass. They bring him back in and ask for his two words. He clears his throat and says, "Bad food." They nod and send him away. Seven more years pass. They bring him in for his two words. "I quit," he says. "That's not surprising," the elders say. "You've done nothing but complain ever since you got here."

So finally as Jesus notes how the crowds have diminished and followers have disappeared, he says to the twelve: “Do you also wish to go away?” (v.67) Peter answers for them, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” (vv.67-68)

Why do people leave Jesus? Why do people leave the church? What happened to all the many former members of DCC? Even one of the great preachers of our day, Barbara Brown Taylor, left the organized church, writing a very interesting book entitled, Leaving Church (2006). Please be assured that I am not equating leaving the church, especially any particular church, with leaving Jesus. In fact the essence of Barbara Brown Taylor’s book was that she left the church in order to save her faith.

One preacher wrote, “The ‘hard sayings’ of the enigmatic Jesus are only one reason why some people quit the faith. Still others leave church because of boredom, legalistic pettiness, superficial platitudes, unanswered prayers, bitter disappointments, intellectual doubts, nagging questions, or life traumas that ‘crush the spirit’.”2 I’m sure most of you out there could add to this list. We do not have to agree with, or even understand everything the preacher preaches or the officers and committees decide upon. We can acknowledge that the church is an earthly institution that will never be perfect. After all no one ever said Christians were perfect, just forgiven—a bumper sticker I remember. Benedictine nun, Joan Chittester, says that we can not be happy about many things in church, yet remain as a "loyal member of a dysfunctional family." So yes most churches are not perfect. I doubt if you have ever found one that was even though you may have found one, possibly this one, that really suits you.

Getting back to choices, do you remember Moses (Deuteronomy 30) saying to the sojourners in the desert that he has set before them this day life and prosperity, death and adversity. If they choose to obey God’s commandments they will prosper and be blessed; other wise they shall perish. He ends with saying that he has set before them life and death, blessings and curses. “Choose life so that you and your descendants may live…”(v.19b).

Whom do you choose to serve? In every generation, we have to make our own decisions within our own particular context. Decisions like these are not easy even if we are sure we are making the right decision. So many times we just can’t figure it out ourselves, and we wonder whether that voice we hear deep inside is God or just our own will. We know that some of the beliefs and practices our forebears had do not make any sense to us today. The United Church of Christ emphasizes that God is still speaking; God has not spoken once and then stopped talking. Our understanding of God must grow and change just as we do. We get new insights from books, from speakers and preachers, through prayer as well as from observing life itself. As our individual lives and our world grows, we see things a different way. I just heard this week about how much the brain, especially the frontal lobes, have grown in the last 2 million years, allowing human beings to use imagination and other scientific/logical thinking that was not possible in early life.

Joshua was challenging his people to worship the One God and not the idols that were the gods of their forefathers. What is idolatry? The dictionary has the unhelpful definition of worshiping idols and also blind or excessive devotion to something. One of my references said that idolatry exists when there is a separation of spiritual values such as love of God and neighbor from the way we carry out our lives day by day. When we make the choice that Joshua is talking about, it’s really a choice of priorities: what is most important to us--loving the things of the world or loving God. If we choose something in the world such as money and make its acquisition the highest good, that would be idolatry. When we do that, we are making this thing our god. Money, to continue with the same example, is not bad in itself. It has many valuable uses. It becomes bad when it becomes so important to us that more important things, such as honesty, are neglected. Last week Don Johnson preached about the idolatry of putting our nation first, believing that Americans are God’s chosen people as well as making an idol of consumer capitalism. He reminded us of H. Richard Niebuhr saying that we must be willing to take a stand against the world. Don points out that any church, and I would add any Christian who blindly serves the nation state, is betraying God by “having other gods before Him.” So, if we have too great a focus and loyalty to worldly things and too little trust and faith in God, it is the same as worshipping idols. In our Joshua text, a single moment of choice is given to the Israelites. I believe that for us it is not a single choice, a single decision. If not daily, at least weekly or monthly we are presented with choices where we have to decide whether or not to serve God, to try to love others as God has loved us, or to put worldly or self-centered values above the great commandments. Jesus said the two greatest commandments are to love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and to love your neighbor as yourself.

Joshua’s choice: “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

What about you?

Prayer: Gracious God, be with us in our choices. Give us courage, give us clarity, that we may serve you as you want us to. Thank you for the many ways we know you; keep us open to the Spirit in all ways now and forevermore. Amen.

1 Roy H. May, Jr., Joshua and the Promised Land.
2 Dan Clendenin, Journey with Jesus.

Two Flags

by Don Johnson

Over the last 25 years that we have been hosting Fulbright professors from around the world, we have visited many churches in New England, including this one. The visitors ask many questions about American religion, but the one that arises the most is, “Why is the American flag in a church?” Today, I would like to investigate with you this issue and how as believing Christians we should respond to the question of “Two Flags.” The two flags, one representing our Christian community, the flag given by the Guild in honor of my mother, and the other one symbolizing our nation.

One way to resolve the two flags is to argue that they represent the same values and there is no contradiction between them. Today’s scriptures explains how the nation of Israel is seen as God’s chosen nation and made sacred by divine covenant that stipulated God would favor Israel if its people followed His rules. In Psalm 111, there is little question what nation God favors, “He has shown his people the power of his works, giving them the lands of other nations.” But what happens if we Americans see ourselves as a new Israel, as God’s chosen people? Does this transfer of the chosen really work?

From the beginning of our history Americans have claimed to be the new Israel and heir to God’s divine favor. Governor Winthrop in 1630, , standing in Boston, preached to his people that, “we shall be as a City upon a Hill, the eies of all people are uppon us...if God be with us who can be against us?” America, then, would be God’s favored people also, by establishing a "New Jerusalem" in a "new Canaan. " Here a purer form of Christianity could prosper and would serve as a moral and religious beacon for the entire world. Woodrow Wilson spoke in a similar vein when he announced that “America was born a Christian nation. America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived from the revelations of the Holy Scripture.” Later in 1983, President Reagan explained "Therefore, this country is compelled by scripture and the Lord Jesus Christ to oppose Russia with all military and political means.” George W. Bush adopted Winthrop’s words when he reminded us after September 11th, "Our nation is chosen by God and commissioned by history to be a model to the world of justice."As a European writer noted, after September 11th, “This idea of God choosing the people of America is as strong today as it was three centuries ago…a statement that one never hears from European leaders.”

Another explanation of the elevation of one’s nation comes out of world history following the French Revolution. Since then, or perhaps even before, the nation-state as the major unit of political organization has dominated world politics. From the origin of nation-states with England, France and Spain, the number has now grown to 193 nation states, most earning that status with the end of European and American colonialism.

In the nation-state system everyone gives their ultimate loyalty to their state. Each state, although imposing a common civic morality within its borders, outside the borders deals with the other nation-states without any morality except one’s “national interests.” National leaders are free to kill, kidnap, torture, lie, steal and commit other acts that inside the state would be considered evil, and often punishable by law.

Most world historians now agree that in the past 200 years the nation-state has gained almost total power over its citizens. It has also replaced religion as the major shaper of our collective world views and moral structures. The nation-state alone can take our lives and give them back, make war and negotiate peace settlements. As one scholar explains, the modern nation state, “defines [our] purposes, meanings and goals...i All this power to define reality was once situated in the realms of religion. Nation states, beyond shaping our collective consciousness also control the means of violence. In the 20th century alone, the bloodiest century in history, national wars have taken about 140 million lives.

We call loyalty to one’s nation patriotism. We have all have taken several courses on United States history and remember our revolutionary hero Nathan Hale, who at age 21 spoke these words when he was about to be hanged, words that we learned in the East Deering school house, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." We may also remembers Stephen Decatur, our great naval hero who declared his loyalty in 1816, “Our country!... right or wrong.”
The eminent orthodox Christian writer, G. K. Chesterton, wrote America is "a country with the soul of a church." Albert Einstein, concerned about the excesses of nationalism wrote, "Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all of the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism — how passionately I hate them!" George Bernard Shaw once commented, "You'll never have a quiet world till you knock the patriotism out of the human race."

Rhinehold Niebuhr is certainly one of the most thoughtful American theologians to address the tension between our nation and our God. His Moral Man and Immoral society, argues that individuals may choose to act morally and take the consequences, even death, but nation-states cannot act morally, because their leaders are bound to place national survival above all other values. In his fine book, The Irony of American History, he argues that the Unites States cannot possibly be chosen by God, because it is a nation state like all others. He tried to convince Americans, in the heat of the Cold War, that we are one nation among many and we use power to gain our objectives like all other nations. Those of us who agree with Niebuhr suggest that we must recognize that we are not God’s chosen people, but are, like any nation, fully capable of sinfulness.

Seeing the American flag beside the Christian flag should remind us that we as a nation live in a fallen world, a world of power politics and fierce competition for wealth and status, far removed from God’s promised kingdom. It reminds us that in a nation-state, even our own, power usually determines results and we must understand power if we are to take the serious steps to heal the pain and injustices in our nation and the world. The Christian flag symbolizes “thy kingdom to come,” God’s future kingdom of peace, justice and mercy. Even as we honor our nation we must accept God’s final judgment on each of us, on our nation and on our world.

But that tension between the nation in which we live and God’s promised kingdom doesn’t excuse us from making the effort to turn our fallen world toward the direction of God’s promised kingdom. In his famous Serenity prayer, Niebuhr taught us that we can change some things even though we cannot change everything. We must not be discouraged when our attempts to do good make us feel like Sisyphus pushing his rock up the hill, only tantalizingly near the top it rolls back down on him. Niebuhr calls for realism in our foreign policy and in our Christian life. He reminds us that nothing of true value can be accomplished in a single lifetime and no great endeavor can be achieved alone. If we are to be part of social change, we must work together as a community. We also need to proceed in humility and realize that our lonely shouting and anger achieves nothing in dealing with any kind of real power, much less the ultimate power of the nation-state.

The other Niebuhr brother, H. Richard, visited Germany in the 1930s as the Nazis were gaining power. Returning home, after many discouraging talks with German Christian leaders, he wrote his famous book, The Church against the world, where he writes, “If Christians continue to betray their mission to the oppressed, God will raise another people in their place.” His words, written at a time when most German Christian leaders were doing little to oppose Nazism, remind us that our faith insists that we be part of a church that in our own time has the courage to stand against the world. ii Peter Gomes, the minister of the Harvard Memorial Church, echoes this thought in our own time, “If you are really willing to choose between your culture and the God who delivered you, and you choose the God who delivered you, then you can do it, but you can't have it both ways."

Our American problem is further confounded, not only by our mistaken assumption that we are God’s chosen, but in the last thirty years, by the elevation of another false god to be worshipped along side our nation - consumer capitalism. As the Harvard theologian Harvey Cox wrote in 1999, “The Market is becoming more like the Yahweh of the Old Testament—not just one superior deity contending with others but the Supreme Deity, the only true God, whose reign must now be universally accepted and who allows for no rivals.” iii

The most difficult choices for modern Christians revolve around the fact that churches function in nation states and too often confuse their loyalties and conflate nationalism and capitalism with the Christian faith. Any church that blindly serves the state or economic system in which it functions, is betraying our sovereign God and “having other gods before Him.”

Many of America’s most successful churches now merge nationalism, market economics and Christianity into a popular mix accompanied by light shows and rock music that offends no one and promises individual happiness, personal wealth and a mindless commitment to American national interest - all in the name of a loving God. If we are to honor God’s sovereignty and Jesus’ command that we side with the downtrodden, good works, charity and innocence rooted in superficial knowledge just won’t do. If we are to translate Jesus teachings into our own time, we must understand both the radicalism of our scriptures and how the politics of power functions. To do that we have to know how our social and political system as well as the global world actually works. We must study and be willing to face facts instead of responding to emotionally charged sound bites. This is the path of sacrifice of time, effort and money, and sometimes much more.

The great German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, teaches us the possible price of dissent when we go against the nation-state. In 1939, Bonhoeffer who had earlier studied at Union Theological Seminary, visited his mentor Rhinehold Niebuhr in New York. Neibuhr advised Bonhoeffer not to return to Germany. But Bonhoeffer decided to return to his home country. From Germany he wrote to Neibuhr, “I have no right to participate in the reconstruction of Christian life in Germany after the war if I do not share the trials of this time with my people.” In 1944, Bonhoeffer was executed for his part in the plot to assassinate Hitler. No wonder Bonhoeffer could speak with such conviction on cheap grace. In his seminal book, The Cost of Discipleship, he defines cheap" grace as “the preaching of forgiveness without repentance, baptism without church discipline; Communion without confession. Or as the prophet Zephaniah warns us, “Gather together, gather, O shameless nation, before you are driven away like the drifting chaff, before there comes upon you the fierce anger of the Lord, before there comes upon you the day of the Lord's wrath.”

So we have two flags, one standing for the nation we love; one standing for our faith. We surely hope that our nation really is as we pledge, “one nation under God” and that we also understand our most famous prayer, “Thy will be done, thy kingdom come But what if our nation chooses not to follow God’s laws and clearly behaves more like the Assyrians, Babylonians and Egyptians, so much scorned in the Old Testament. If and when that day should come, will we have the courage to pledge our ultimate allegiance to the Christian flag and really act on the higher calling of our Christian faith.

i . Julian Thomas, Quoted in Connie McNeely, Construction of the Nation-State, 1994,p. 7
ii . H. Richard Niebuhr, The Question of the church in the Church against the World, Chicago, 1935.
iii . Harvey Cox “The Market as God: Living in the new dispensation The Atlantic Monthly, Vol.283 No.3, March 1999)

Deep Hunger

Sermon for August 2, 2009
Scripture: Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15; John 6:24-35


What are you hungry for today? Really hungry for? And I’m not talking about blueberry pie or rum raisin ice cream. What is it deep down inside of you that you desire?
In last week’s scripture there was a crowd of over 5000 listening to Jesus and they were hungry for something to eat on a physical level so we took a look at the Abundance available when we care for each other. The Revised Common Lectionary that I usually follow is spending 5 weeks in the 6th chapter of John, the gospel of the “I am” statements. In this week’s gospel reading Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (6:35)

In researching this sermon I came across a quote from a British journalist that I want to share: “Countries like ours are full of people who have all the material comforts they desire, together with such non-material blessings as a happy family, and yet lead lives of quiet, and at times noisy, desperation, understanding nothing but the fact that there is a hole inside them and that however much food and drink they pour into it, however many motor cars and television sets they stuff it with, however many well-balanced children and loyal friends they parade around the edges of it… it aches.” 1 Do you have that kind of aching hole inside of you? Maybe not, hopefully not. I’d love to know that all of you are so filled with the Spirit, so strong in your faith that this sermon does not apply to you and I’ll continue anyhow.

What are our deepest desires? What is it that will fill us? Some people believe that it is money and fame and then look at the sadness of Michael Jackson’s life. Others will believe that recognition and power and maybe a little sex thrown in will do it and then we look at the sadness of John Edwards and Governor Mark Sanford’s confessions and know that is not the answer. The great psychologists and psychiatrists have had their opinions: Sigmund Freud felt the desire for Pleasure, especially sexual pleasure was the answer. Alfred Adler said no it isn’t sex; it’s the desire for power, to be in control that is most important. Then we have psychiatrist Victor Frankel after his experience in the Nazi concentration camps. There both desire for pleasure and the wish for control and power were taken away, so he believes that the basic human hunger or the deepest drive within us is our deep longing for meaning and purpose, to have our lives matter.

There’s no doubt that the Israelites on their journey to the Promised Land had a lot of problems and today’s lesson from Exodus finds them grumbling again about what they do not have. They had only been on the road for about a month, but what a month it had been! They weren’t used to this refugee life, and started thinking that maybe being a slave wasn’t so bad. They were quick to complain and murmur when their needs weren’t being met. So Moses intervenes for them with God who promises to give them their daily bread, manna from heaven. The catch was that each morning they could gather only what they needed for the day. If they took too much it would rot. This was a test of both obedience to God and trust that God will provide.

How much is enough? The advertisers on TV and the internet constantly tell us we need more. We need things that yesterday we never even knew existed. As human beings, we always seem to be hungry for more. Physical hunger comes and goes. You’re hungry, you eat a meal and you feel better. But spiritual hunger is different. It gnaws away at you. Many try to fill this desperate hunger with work, food or even alcohol and drugs. It only causes even deeper hungry. People, places or things cannot fill a hunger and thirst that only a right relationship with God can fill.
The crowds that followed Jesus yesterday were back again, and Jesus accuses them of following him only because he filled their bellies. Knowing that they have missed the point, Jesus tries to tell them, “You guys think that manna in the desert was a big deal. The manna was just pointing toward Me. Plus Moses didn’t come up with that,” he tells them, “It came from God. And it wasn’t just about feeding hungry people. It was about getting them ready to go to a new place of freedom and promise.” For them and for us it is hard to see beyond the literal bread. Jesus tells them that God has a new and different kind of bread that would satisfy their deep hunger and that it was coming to them through himself, that he would give it to them and to us if we believed. Believing in Jesus is—living with our focus on him, striving to have him live in and through us. It is believing that he is the incarnation of God’s grace. When we believe in him, we are really convinced in our hearts that we, each of us, are loved by God, that God knows each of us and that each of us matters. Jesus is saying that he’s the only one who can truly satisfy the deepest hungers of our hearts and spirits. And once we find that satisfaction in Him, we’ll never experience that gnawing spiritual hunger and thirst again. Just as God fed the hungry Hebrews for 40 years with the manna, and just as Jesus fed the hungry crowds on the Lakeshore with bread, He still feeds us today through the Holy Spirit. God feeds us through his Word in the Bible as well as in his Still Speaking word. For those that are wandering in the deserts of uncertain health, uncertain employment, troubled relationships, or whatever, God’s Word reminds us of God’s love and faithfulness. When we believe in him, we are convinced and motivated to love others as God in Christ has loved us.

We are also fed through the Sacrament of Holy Communion. This is my body broken for you. Jesus is the real food, the most important food for life. Jesus has told you both in his words and his actions: don’t spend your time and energy and effort in buying food that spoils, empty relationships, useless junk food. Don’t stock your shelves with perishables—cars, gadgets, jewelry, clothes, or an overstuffed bank account.

The bread and cup, the body and blood of Jesus is our real food. It’s a strange food we consume, this food… called Jesus. We consume it, take it into ourselves like ordinary bread… like ordinary wine. We begin to digest it… until it becomes part of us. But... then the bread of life… does something else…. something the ordinary bread doesn't do. This real bread… this real food… the body and blood of Jesus… begins to consume us… begins to make us part of Jesus… and we too become non-perishable… we too become bread of life… living loaves for the world. Remember that your hunger of whatever sort matters to Jesus. You can spend your effort and energy… seeking to fill that hunger with all sorts of foods… but Jesus reminds you that it's the Spirit who can fill you… so eat as often as you can… so that you can go out into the world… and be bread... the body of Christ... for someone else. May our deep hunger be satisfied this day as we go to Christ’s table. Amen

1 Bernard Levin, ‘Life’s Great Riddle, and No Time to Find Its Meaning’.