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’.
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’.
posted by Sermons given at Deering Community Church @ 1:00 PM
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