The lessons for each Sunday in the church year proclaim God’s grace in Jesus Christ. Also derived from a Sunday’s texts are lessons for the Christ-inspired and Christ-like life of God’s people. The comments here will help you find hunger-related threads –sermon starters – among the themes of this day’s texts. (We're presuming you have already done your exegetical work on the texts.) God bless your proclamation (and teaching) of what is most certainly true!

Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15
After the complaints that Moses had brought them out of Egypt only to die (14:11-12) and that they have nothing to drink (15:24), this complaint of no food (16:3) comes as no surprise. In the exodus narrative these complaints function as a reflection of the people’s faith in God. Ironically, the complaints are born in the midst of God’s redeeming work. It may seem convenient to conclude that such complaints (those in scripture and today’s iterations) signify a lack of (or at least immature) faith, but we should not forget that the narrative points to a more powerful reality— a responsive God. We may anticipate the question, “So why doesn’t God act in such a way today by providing for all who are hungry?”

Let’s admit that we cannot answer it directly. But the narrative does inform our faith and our Eucharistic celebration witnesses to the reality that God has responded and is responding to the needs of the hungry and calling us to respond as well. The verses following this passage (specifically 16-21) offer a cautionary message about collecting more than is needed and stand as an indictment on over-consumption. When taking in account present day food distribution, the reality is that God provides, but we still manage to corrupt the distribution.

Nathan’s story illustrates an abuse of power that draws David’s ire (irony strikes again). The pivotal line delivered in Nathan’s “You are the man!” reveals that abuses of power distort reality in such a way that the perpetrators do not fully realize their actions. We are expected to respond to Nathan’s story with anger similar to David’s, yet if the rich man’s actions were placed in the contemporary setting of food justice, we probably share David’s blame as well. It is well documented that there is enough food so that everyone can be fed, yet people still go hungry. So if I have more than enough to eat, then do I have someone else’s share?

True, the food distribution system is more complicated than Nathan’s story, but this passage can be helpful for how we talk about confession and repentance. The realization of our complicity in the unjust power system can be overwhelming, but it may also be the necessary step in our repentance. What will we do when we hear Nathan’s “You are…” line for us?

This psalm offers a poetic, theological reflection on the exodus account. For the psalmist the complaints are explicitly connected to the people’s lack of trust in God. Food, according to the psalmist does not inform a trust in God (or at least it didn’t in this case). The psalm illustrates that the people’s unwillingness to trust God is present before the feeding event (v.19-20) and implicitly, during it (v.30). And yet the reality conveyed in this passage, and the church’s witness, is that God feeds (independently of faith).

With lines like “opened the doors of heaven” and “led out the south wind” the psalmist does not spare details on how far God is willing to extend generosity. When it comes to responding to those who are hungry and in need among us, how might we better witness to God’s profligate grace?

The image of one body permeates through this passage, and is indeed central for the Christian church. Such imagery is important to keep in mind in the midst of theological differences, but is also a powerful reminder as we think about our actions and maintenance of “the bond of peace” in regards to economic differences. As much as we emphasize the “one body in Christ” we are confronted with the reality that it is a hungry body.

The different gifts which Paul reminds us we have been given are important for the work and ministry of the church. But these gifts should not recuse us from living into the vision of one body in Christ. That is, working for food justice should not be relegated to those who are on the justice team or volunteer at the food pantry. As we live into the reality of being one body in Christ we will inevitably be confronted by the injustices of the world. Paul’s challenge to “grow up in every way” in Christ (v.15) means caring for the rest of the body as well, especially the most vulnerable.

It would be easy to spiritualize the bread language in this passage. Jesus seems to demote the material (“do not work for the food that perishes”) in favor of the everlasting (“but for the food that endures for eternal life”). But his purpose in doing so is so that we don’t get so fixed on the sign (this comes right after the feeding of the multitude) that we forget who Jesus is and what he brings. The disciples’ request in verse 34 “give us this bread always” echoes the request of water from the woman at the well (4:15). In both cases Jesus does not turn down a “material” request, but he directs the conversation in such a way that we realize there is more at stake here.

This is a good reminder for us if we are ever tempted to think that canned food drives are all we need to do to justify caring for the hungry. Ignoring the structural causes of hunger is akin to settling for the “material” alleviation of a can of food. The words of Jesus remind us of a deeper reality, and part of our work is witnessing to the ways in which Jesus is the very real bread of life among us and for the world. As far as making connections to The Meal, in this context perhaps “Lord’s Supper” is a more appropriate connection to make than “Eucharist” or “Communion” given that Jesus is host and gives of himself.

After a day in the wilderness running for his life Elijah is ready to give up. He does not know how long the journey will last, or even what resources he has. The scripture does not say he is hungry when he is provided the food for the journey, but according to the messenger the journey will be too arduous otherwise. The food seems meager: a jar of water and cake of bread, but so does the Lord’s Supper when we’re given a bite of bread and at most a sip from the cup. Through this story we are reminded that it is not just a spiritual journey that concerns God, but a journey where our physical needs are known to God as well.

This is the second scripture in as many weeks where hunger finds its setting in the wilderness and God is shown to be quite responsive. In this passage we have the reminder that even in those experiencing the wilderness are not beyond the reach of God.

With the poetic invitation to “taste and see that the LORD is good” it is hard to imagine the psalmist having anything in mind other than an experiential reality. For the hungry, getting food and nourishment may well be an answer to a prayer. Food is a gift from God, a reality which may well go unnoticed. This psalm offers a witness to God’s provision, which can and should be visible among us.

This passage, while not offering a thorough theology of work, at least gives some context for its effect: “let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy.” (v.28). Granted the instruction is directed toward thieves, the passage still conveys a hope for how we are to live in community: that what is earned by some may be shared with the needy. This supports the vision set out at the beginning of this passage that “we are members of one another.” (v.25). This allows us to see the hungry not merely as people to help and feed, but as our fellow members in the body of Christ.

This is a continuation of last week’s gospel lesson. Jesus says those who come to him will never be hungry and those who believe in him will never thirst. Human experience does not bear this out in a literal sense, but that doesn’t mean we settle for simple material and spiritual dualities in order to make some sense it. At the heart of the passage is the reality of Jesus as “the living bread come down from heaven.” Metaphor or allegory is too narrow for interpreting Jesus’ use of language here. Instead, Jesus is God’s prevenient action- present now, and continuing to feed the world.

This interpretation is more concerned with God’s promise being shown in Christ rather than some alternate spiritual realm or reality. Caring for those who are hungry is part of our witness to this activity of God.