LISTSERV 16.0 - HUNGERSERMONSTARTERS Archives

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!

In this passage Wisdom is personified and invites those who would hear to come to her table. In conversations about discipleship or justice we may prefer talking about faithfulness rather than wisdom. It is especially difficult when wisdom is reduced to “smarts.” What impact would it have on our mission or conversations if we considered care for the hungry as a mark of wisdom? Or how might Wisdom be better integrated into our lives as disciples so that we see God’s wisdom at work through a hospitality that we extend to others?

The first two verses of this psalm reinforce the point: the fear of the Lord and seeking the Lord are the right path (and the path of no need). This need not lead to a simplistic view of discipleship (following God=having whatever I want). Rather, this serves as an orienting passage, directing us to the action of God in the midst of the world and our lives. It is not about just letting God feed them, but being active messengers in our communities and the world that we have a God who feeds us.

This echo from the Proverbs reading to live in wisdom is directed to a congregation. If the first reading was poetic, this one has a more didactic tone where the command to live in wisdom is more direct. The instruction to make the most of the time should not be confused with a general “seize the day” message. It would be helpful to consider how this command affects our response to the world as a people of faith. In other words, discipleship is typically very process-oriented, but this passage indicates that making the most of our time requires decisions to be made in wisdom. This passage opens the door to making connections between discipleship and the necessity of responding to the issues present around us (i.e. hunger, racism, domestic violence, etc.). It is difficult to read this passage without considering the words right before it: “Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

As I wrote in last week’s sermon starter, 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 the hungry is part of our witness to this activity of God.

This narrative does well in getting the point across that serving the Lord is a serious (if not dangerous) undertaking, not that it should guilt us into serving the needy and caring for the hungry (though it may have that effect). The narrative gets to a deeper message— serving God as lord changes us. As the story of the people of Israel illustrates, this is a God who frees from bondage, cares for the hungry in the wilderness, protects and leads people. As a people serving God, these actions become important ones for us too, marking us and orienting our mission in the world.

The language in this passage draws us to remember our work in advocacy as a people of faith. The authorities and rulers of this world we battle against may well be found in the fight for food justice and equal distribution. While a call for action in the political sphere may not appeal to some in our congregations, this epistle draws us focus on the importance of very communal activity.

At the end of a long speech from Jesus, it should not be surprising that it caused offense (or at least confusion). One of the striking lines from this passage comes from Peter who asks, “Lord, to whom can we go?” As a people of faith we witness to God’s prior action as the source for our strength and abilities. Peter’s question reminds us of the futility of orienting our mission in anything else. It is interesting to note that this question may well be asked by both those who are hungry and those who are working to end hunger.