Full Bellies...Starving Souls

Readings: Isaiah 55:1-7, Galatians 4:21-5:1a, John 6:1-15

Come Thursday, we in the United States and Americans throughout the world will celebrate Thanksgiving, a day of eating, visiting with family and friends, and, as the name of the holiday implies, giving thanks for all we have. And we do, even in a down-turned economy, have plenty. At the end of that food-filled day, our bellies will be full. 

But what about our souls?

Our souls have fallen victim to the same fate as our bodies--we feed on "junk food" in our food, drink, as well as what we read, view, and hear. Then we expect our bodies and souls to feel nourished and stay healthy. As we now know, this simply doesn't work. This wasn't the way we were created. God created us in his own image--no junk there. And, we know better; we just don't follow through very well.

In Isaiah, God invites us to come to him to satisfy our thirst and hunger, not just the hunger that makes our bellies growl and our throats dry--God gives direction to fulfill that through our earthly labors--but true hunger and thirst in our souls that needs to be satisfied as well. God asks us to come and listen, to seek him and call on him for guidance. He tells the wicked to forsake their ways and for the evil to turn away from evil thoughts. In other words, lose the "empty calorie" diets of being a part of the world that has lost all spiritual direction. We can regain our spiritual health with a steady diet of His love and guidance. "Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon" (v.7).

In Galatians, we hear the story of Hagar and Sarah, but from a little different perspective this time--the story relates to our lives in a way of gaining freedom from a state of slavery. And not slavery in the conventional way we think of slavery. This type of slavery is where we find ourselves if we're not mindful of keeping our souls on a healthy diet. Before we know it, we're into the "fast food" of falling for every earthy pursuit that keeps us in a tailspin of slavery through seeking earthly gain at the expense of giving up our focus of being  free from these limited pursuits. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then and do not let yourselves be burdened again by the yoke of slavery" (Ch. 5, v. 1a). How wonderful when we come to the resolution that what the world offers is not necessarily on our "diet" of spiritual health and we become truly free.

We all remember the words of the third reading today, from John--the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand. As the crowds approached, Phillip was asked by Christ (somewhat as a test) "Where shall we buy bread for all of these people to eat?"(v.5) Phillip had no idea, but then saw a young boy with five loaves of bread and two fishes. Christ directed them to divide these up and to start passing them out among the massive group. And, as we recall, there was bread left over after all were fed. As was Jewish custom at the time of not allowing any scraps of bread to remain on the ground in honor of God's giving the gift of bread, Christ had the disciples pick up the extra that had fallen to the ground and, as a result, there was still a basket full after all were fed. Jesus gave the message that day that also fed some of the souls there; unfortunately, many still did not get beyond being physically full and missed the spiritual food that day. They still saw him as a prophet; not the Son of God come to save the world. They left, unbeknownst to themselves, still hungry.

So what do we do to satisfy our spiritual hunger and thirst? A healthy dose of daily Bible reading is the first course; being in an environment that affords "moral fiber" keeps us spiritually healthy as well. We need to go extra light on the "snacking" when it comes to getting caught up in all the world's worries, judgments, and wants--it doesn't take too many tastes of these to develop a real craving. And although it's virtually impossible to steer clear of these, it is in our best interest to measure every "calorie" of doubt, anger, and resentment we consume. If we don't, we become overloaded and our soul can't resume its healthy lifestyle.

We are truly blessed. We have good food for the body, skills in which to prepare it to serve our bodily health, and a loving Savior with an endless supply of food for the soul. Our bodies are indeed temples--our temples to God's ever-lasting love through his son, Christ our Lord.

Peace be with you.