Hangry - August 20
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 131, 132, [133]; PM Psalm 134, 135; Job 1:1-22; Acts 8:26-40; John 6:16-27
“Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”
Several people commented that my sermon last week was helpful, specifically in the context of Saint Stephen’s and why our invitation to communion is so important. If you are curious about that prayer, our practice, and we do something that is a little outside of the norm, you can listen here. And, it connects to today’s Gospel in an important way.
We have a saying in my house. It’s called “hangry” = hungry + angry. It is most often experienced in one of my children. They bypass lunch, distracted by screens or friends or something else, and eventually the attitude changes. I’m learning not to take it personally. I’ve said many times, “Oh, you’re just hangry” to which the most generous response is usually a dramatic eye roll.
The funny thing about hunger is that sometimes we don’t realize how hungry we are.
I wonder if the same thing happens in our spiritual lives. We move through our days distracted by work and schedules and screens and all the things demanding our attention. We look for something to satisfy us (fill in any number of things), and yet somehow we remain hungry.
Jesus knows something about that hunger.
“Do not work for the food that perishes,” he says, “but for the food that endures for eternal life.”
There are plenty of good things in this world that can sustain us for a while. But there is a hunger within us that none of them can ultimately satisfy. We need something we cannot provide for ourselves. Maybe that is part of why we keep coming back to the Eucharist, or our lives feel out of sorts when we have missed.
Last week I reflected on the beauty of the invitation to the table: Come, you who have much faith and you who have little. Perhaps today Jesus reminds us why the invitation matters so much.
Because we are hungry. We may just not even know it.
Faithfully,
John+
Question for Self-Reflection: What are you asking to satisfy a hunger that only God can feed?