Sermon: To be Hungry for God

Thanksgiving Day, 2010

The Rev. Shelby Ochs Owen

Trinity Church, Staunton

Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Thanksgiving Day is not usually a day when we think about being hungry, at least not for very long. We tend to associate this day with having plenty to eat, a day of feasting, a day of coming to a full table. When my sisters and I were young we often said after a big meal, “I am full!” Our mother would remind us of a better way of saying such things that she had gotten from her mother, “I have had an elegant sufficiency. Any more would be a superfluous redundancy!” Many of us will reach that point of superfluous redundancy at the dinner table later today.

Before we focus on the plenteous food at the table which is to face most, if not all, of us later today, let’s back up to the idea of hunger that the Gospel of John brings to us in our reading for today. Today’s passage comes not too far after the feeding of the 5000 where Jesus and his disciples feed masses of hungry people. So when Jesus says here in this passage, “You are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves,” it is most likely that event to which he is referring. So Jesus is fully aware of physical hunger and the physical needs of human beings. Back when the crowds were hungry, he actually gave them food to eat. Real food.

What is it like to be physically hungry? Hunger reminds us of space not filled, of a need that has not yet been addressed. When we are hungry, we are restless, disoriented, something in us is stirred, and we are often motivated to do something about the hunger. When we are hungry, we are empty and we sense that something is not quite right with the world. We have been created in a way where we need food to live. When hunger becomes dire, we actually hurt, we despair, and we can become frightened. For without food eventually we die. It is difficult to imagine that hunger could actually be a blessing except that hunger can tell us we are healthy enough to be hungry. It can mean our bodies are actually working properly when we sense that inner stirring of hunger, when we feel that empty space.

The women’s Bible study is studying the Book of Ruth right now where there is a major theme of being empty (both with hunger as well as with loss of loved ones) and then of having plenty. A couple of weeks ago, I asked the women to name an instance where empty was actually a good thing. The answers were enlightening: an empty dishwasher, an empty kitchen sink (said the mother of four who has no dishwasher), an empty week on the calendar, an empty art canvas, an empty email bin, empty arms so that they were free for a hug and just plain old quiet, when the air is empty of noise. I would add empty hands at the communion rail. Some wise soul in the study group noted that many of these examples of empty being a good thing pointed to places of rest or peace; I would add that some examples point to places of hope and possibility as well.

When Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry” he was talking about spiritual hunger, which is not unlike physical hunger. In his book Confessions Augustine of Hippo said, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” Restless until it rests in you. We all have spiritual hunger; we just don’t always recognize it as such. We know we are feeling empty at times but not sure why. We are restless and answers are not forthcoming. Perhaps a relationship is troubled, perhaps the right job has not come along just yet, perhaps we cannot see the fruit of our labors. What IS that feeling bothering me? Sometimes that restlessness stirs the existential questions. Is not there something more to this life than what I am experiencing so far? Could it be that it is God himself who is stirring us? Could it be that God actually causes us to yearn for God? When we do not hear clearly or perhaps do not understand that it is indeed the divine voice of love calling us, we respond to this hunger with all kinds of things. Turkey and cranberry sauce won’t fill the bill with this kind of hunger; alcohol and other drugs won’t touch it; working harder and running faster won’t begin to satisfy this kind of hunger; these things may mask it for while but the hunger is always there. And it is a hunger that Jesus claims to be able to assuage. “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry.”

So how do we partake of this bread? We pray with empty hands and open hearts and minds that Jesus will fill us with himself. We acknowledge our spiritual hunger as just that and turn to the One who stirred it up in the first place! And as God answers our prayer we begin to see all kinds of ways in which he feeds our souls. As we find ourselves more able to forgive, as we take ourselves less seriously, as we find ourselves loving others more easily, as we find ourselves feeding others, those who are hungry, those who are lonely, those who are in despair. As we minister to others we begin to realize that the bread that Jesus has provided satisfies and delights in ways unexpected.

So on this Thanksgiving Day, be hungry for dinner, and enjoy your turkey and gravy. Be filled. But also be hungry for God; let that hunger, that restlessness, that empty space that only God can fill be the impetus for asking God into your life. Come to the communion rail with empty hands and receive Jesus, the bread of life. Let him assuage your hunger. Allow God to fill that empty space with his overflowing love.