The Hunger that Satisfies

We are a hungry species and often it seems we are never quite satisfied - or not for long! So what is the hunger that leads to satisfaction? (Tenth Sunday after Pentecost. Proper 13 [18] Matthew 14:13-21.)

Sentence:

“Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your earnings for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.” Isaiah 55:2

Collect:

God of life and all good things,

You have created us with a desire for bread and wine, milk and honey.

Grant us all that we need for life.

And give us an appetite for the word and the spirit that gives life purpose and the hunger that leads us home to you.

Amen.

Reflections:

Why do we hunger for what does not really satisfy us? And why do we struggle to recognise what is good all around us? There are so many possible answers and maybe no definitive single answer for we hunger for many things and at many levels.

You may like to read a blog centered on the Jacob story.

Wrestling with God

Or you may like to read what I have written about the feeding of the five thousand.

Feeding the Hungry

Most of us will have heard of Maslow’s hierarchy of need which suggests that our survival physical needs of food, water and shelter need to be met before our more complex psychological and spiritual needs gain our attention. And although this has some merit we only have to look at other cultures which have very little of the physical and yet enjoy complex rich cultural and religious lives so maybe this doesn’t take us far.

In the church we might glibly say that because we are sinful, or fallen people, we hunger for what is not good. And yet the Hebrew Bible makes it abundantly clear that a blessed life was understood to be a physically abundant life – long years, many children and plenty of livestock in a land that belonged to the chosen people. We are indeed sinful or fallen but that is not a compelling answer as to why we hunger for what does not satisfy us ultimately.

Richard Rohr made popular a long held spiritual view that in the first half, or stage, of adult life we seek mastery and obedience, knowledge and performance, achievement and success – or we do battle with external forces. Later in life we turn to the inward journey and must surrender and let go of what we have mastered in order to meet the hunger that is not met by external acheivment – or we wrestle with angels as much as demons! (Just ask Jacob!)

 A contemporary psychological description of this from depth psychology (begun in the works of Jung) is that the ego is filled with appetites – not all of which are bad, they are simply passing. The appetite for food, recognition, mastery, excitement, passion, the love of others, novelty, security … me, me, me! Whilst the soul hungers for home, to be in the presence of the Beloved, for union with the divine. And this requires a great letting go, a loosening of the demand that our everyday needs get met in any particular way, a surrendering to the divine and the universal.

Hunger is a human and holy thing. It is what we hunger for and how we go about seeking to meet our hunger that maybe matters most. And, of course, it is essential that we recognise and honour all people’s hunger and make sure that our neighbours are able to eat their fill and be secure and free enough to pursue the hungers of their souls in peace and safety.

The gospel story of the feeding of the five thousand (in Matthew) speaks to the meeting place of individual and communal hunger; physical and spiritual hunger; hunger that can be satisfied – briefly – and the hunger that initiates us into the great journey of the soul.

This communal meal speaks at so many levels, most of which would have been more obvious to first century audiences than to us. In Matthew’s account Jesus has just heard of his cousin John’s execution by Herod so there is a contrast with the lavish but murderous banquet of Herod and this modest but miraculous and loving meal provided by Jesus.

There is also of course a resonance with the bread, or manna, from heaven given to the chosen but complaining people of God in the wilderness and there is a looking forward to the promised banquet at which God will provide all that is needed. Of cours, there is also a foreshadowing of the last supper when Jesus will declare himself the food and drink of the meal and around which the faithful will gather until the Lord comes again.

If we can imagine ourselves into the minds of the first century curious participants we might imagine that they will have heard rumours of this itinerant healer and preacher. As people without means of health care they will have come to see their neighvours - and maybe even family members – healed and restored to a good life. They are also living under the tyrannical rule of Rome and they may have come to hear of a new and radical son of King David who may rise up and save them from oppression. That they have stayed so late in the day suggests that they have had at least some of their needs met and they want more. When they are fed bread and fish as well they find that their needs are truly met – for now at least – and for some a deeper hunger has been awakened that will lead them to follow.

What are the hungers and questions that keep us awake? At two in the morning are we still wondering about the meaning of our life, or how to love wisely, or how to encourage our dearest to seek healing, or how to live without our human beloveds? What in our faith life satisfies us? Good and joyful worship, good company, meaning and guidance? And what hunger has been intensified by our journey?

Do not be afraid of hunger, only trust it to God to remove or to speak to and draw us forward. St Augustine said that we are restless until we rest in God. And I would paraphrase that as “We are hungry until we are sated with God, and it is our hunger that leads us closer to God.” Let us follow our hunger home to God until we are consumed by the fires of love and creation. Amen.

Intercessions:

Creator God,

You made us with a hunger for food and drink,

for company and a need to dance and sing, create and care;

may we live in a world where the needs of all are honoured.

We particularly pray for all who do not have enough to eat or drink,

medicines to heal, family and community to share with,

and all agencies of care that seek to provide in your name.

Raise up leaders and servants of the common good

who find their purpose in caring for others.

Creator God,

Hear our prayer.

Jesus, host and companion of every meal,

open our hearts and minds to your good gifts

and to the hunger that shapes our living and meaning.

We particularly pray for all gather around the table in your name

and whatever hunger that bids us come.

Help us all to welcome and to share what you have given

that we might partake of what makes us one.

Give your church wisdom and generosity

and stir up those who are filled with what cannot satisfy.

Jesus, host and companion,

Hear our prayer.

Spirit that intercedes for us and entices us home,

Call us by name until we are each and every one

certain of our belovedness.

Grant us desire and courage so that we might sing and dance our way to you.

We particularly pray for any who feel left out

and without hope or comfort,

help us to be faithful companions

until they know for themselves their place with you.

We remember all those dear to us who are with you

and trust ourselves to the same journey home as they took.

Spirit that intercedes and entices,

Hear our prayer.

Living God,

Creator, Companion, and Intercessor,

Come stir up, encourage and companion us home to you. Amen. 

This is my work informed by all that I have heard, read and experienced. I am indebted to the wisdom of others.