Are you hungry?

In our John bible study this week, we talked about this passage (John 6:30-35):

So they asked him, "What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"

Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

"Sir," they said, "from now on give us this bread."

Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.

Yesterday, I was at GlenWood Park, a retirement community. The man who said the blessing at lunch said, before he prayed, "Are you hungry?" I know he was just asking the residents if they were ready for lunch, but the question stuck with me. We are hungry. We hunger for a relationship with God. We hunger for the bread of life about which Jesus spoke. We are hungry.

The manna which the Israelites received kept them physically alive during their trip across the desert, but for those of them -- and those of us -- who pay attention, even manna can bring us closer to God. It taught them to be totally dependent upon God. There was no "pre-collection" of the bread -- they had to continually trust that God would provide. From the manna, they (and we) can learn that God is a faithful God. Because they were not to gather manna on the Sabbath, they learned that God not only would provide, but that he would provide enough for them to rest in him. We can rest in the knowledge that God is dependable enough for us to not have to do everything. He will provide abundance. We do not always have to be in control, and the world does not depend on us every minute of the day. God will provide.

Jesus came. He is the bread of life. We are hungry for God, and Jesus will feed our spirits. If we believe in him, if we listen to him, we will never be hungry.

What are we listening for?

At Covenant Council last night, the bishop ended his sermon with the story of Jesus telling Peter, "feed my sheep." Feed my sheep. Jesus turns the world upside down. Can we comprehend that in order to satisfy our hunger, we must feed his sheep?

Our hunger will be satisfied when we feed his sheep. We will meet God in service and love to others.

Are you hungry? Feed his sheep.