You hungry?

August 1, 2021
10^th Sunday after Pentecost
 
Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15
Psalm 78:23-29
Ephesians 4:1-16
John 6:24-35

Please pray with me,

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable and suitable in your sight, O God, our rock, our strength and our redeemer.  Amen. 

So, anyone hungry?  Here we are, another Sunday from the gospel of John, and more talk about bread.  And, if you weren’t hungry, now that I mentioned it…maybe you are a bit peckish.  You know, you could just use a little something…

Billy and I have had extensive conversations about food.  First of all, it’s because we love to eat and eat well and secondly because we are very aware as to how our eating habits stem directly from our individual families of origin.  How we approach food, it’s preparation and its consumption stems from how we were fed as children, which stems from our parents upbringing and their food experiences.  It’s all connected. 

I bet we could have a wonderfully enriching conversation with one another about our family histories and how they impact how we eat. 

Heck, we can even see it here at Trinity.  How food is the common denominator in so much of the ministries that happen through this congregation. 

But I would be missing the heart of the gospel lesson today, if I solely talked about food and the hunger we feel in our stomachs. 

Not that grumbling stomachs and hunger pangs are not real.  As I write this sermon, I can see the line of cars preparing for the monthly distribution from the Conrad Weiser Food Pantry.  Hunger is real…and it can be seen around the globe and in our own community. 

As real as it is, in today’s gospel, Jesus digs deeper and goes beyond physical hunger. 

He invites the crowds, and us, to examine a deeper hunger…and how that hunger can be fed. 

But, before we get there…maybe we need to think about and name those other hungers….

It’s more than just wanting a snack. 

Are you hungering for more wealth?

More status? 

A return to ‘normalcy’? Whatever that is. 

Are you hungry for a vacation? 

Are you hungry for some down time?

Are you hungry for time alone or time with friends? 

Are you hungry for a place to belong?

A place to be understood?

The opportunity to be seen and heard for you are and who God calls you to be? 

What are you hungry for? 

What are your deep hungers?  The ones that wake you up at night, or keep you from falling asleep, or drive you to work just one hour longer, or practice on that field one more time or to run one more lap or to practice that presentation one more time….

And beyond our individual hungers, we hunger as a community…again for that return to normalcy…or to the sanctuary…the way it used to be. 

We hunger for the end of a pandemic and peace around the world. 

Right now I may even dare to say that we hunger for gold at the Olympics.  So much so, that we place extreme pressure on the athletes that represent us…to bring home the gold…to be their very best because somehow, that will make everything better.  It will satisfy our national hunger. 

But it doesn’t.

And it won’t. 

Because this hunger of ours…as individuals, communities and nations cannot be satiated by medals or perfect 10 scores or a promotion at work, or a return to ‘your’ pew in the sanctuary. 

This hunger of ours is deeper than we realize and cannot be satiated with ‘things’ that we try to accomplish or accumulate. 

It’s not about the stuff. 

It never was. 

It’s about our deepest emotional needs, the ones that we wish to keep hidden from the world and yet at the same time it’s the ones that Jesus knows most intimately about each of us. 

Let me say that again.  Our deep, deep hungers, the ones that we wish to keep hidden from the world…are the ones that Jesus sees first when looking at us and the ones that Jesus know most intimately about us. 

And for me, personally, that is amazingly holy and at the same time deeply terrifying. 

Holy and terrifying. 

And here’s why…

It’s holy because Jesus looks at me and sees the amazing, beautiful child of God that I was created to be and am continually called to be. 

It’s terrifying because when seeing that image of myself, it scares me of who I am capable of being and becoming.  I focus on my shortcomings, my struggle with body image, my concern about my presence and voice in certain situations and my ability to be the child of God created me to be as I am a spouse, a pastor, a daughter, a role model, and a human being. 

And hear this, clearly, I am not sharing this for accolades or words of support, but truly because I believe that if I am feeling this and struggling with this…I cannot be alone in this. 

And this place, this community of faith, is the place I feel safest sharing this stuff. 

This community of faith is a place where we are called to love one another, despite our differences and struggles, actually, we are called to love one another because of those differences and struggles and to listen, and to encourage one other to be true, to be real, and to be honest with God and with one another about who are and who we are called to be. 

It’s hard work.

But it’s beautiful work. 

It’s holy work. 

And so this is where the rubber meets the road. 

The place, community, where we come with these deep, deep hunger pangs. 

We come to this place…acknowledging our deepest hungers…believing that Jesus will satisfy them. 

We come to this place living into the promise that Jesus will satisfy these hungers. 

And Jesus WILL satisfy them. 

Jesus will. 

As you come forward to receive the gift of God in Jesus this day…receive more than just bread and wine.  Receive the bread of life…that feeds our deepest hungers, because in this gift, Jesus sees us – I mean really sees us – and feeds the deepest hungers we’ve ever known. 

Jesus says to you, this day, “I am the bread of life.  Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” 

Come eat and be filled.

With the love of God.

The grace of God.

The presence of God and the holy promise that in this bread and in this wine….we are fed and nourished…and embodied to live out the life and love of Christ this day and all days. 

And now may the peace, which surpasses all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus and let all God’s people say, amen.