This sermon was offered at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Rochester, MN. The Scripture references are Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15; Psalm
78:23-29; Ephesians 4:1-16; John 6:24-35.
We have a family of grey squirrels living in
a hole in a tree right next to our deck.
We’ve watched as the four babies have learned how to creep up the tree
and sun themselves, tussling with one another, yet staying on the
branches. We’ve watched as their parent
scolded them or protected them or cleaned them.
We’ve watched as they have developed skills…skills like jumping into the
bird feeder or climbing from the roof onto another bird feeder. They are learning to find the easy food. The food set out for the birds, yes, but also
for them. They are filling their bellies
with seeds and corn to prepare them for the winter.
Sometimes it becomes a game: us against them. We have found that when they are in the bird
feeders, the birds shy away and don’t compete for the food. Or we hear the squirrels compete with one
another, growling when one squirrel gets too close to their feeder. Sometimes, we’ll go to the window and knock
or talk with them trying to convince them that the other feeder is for
them. It works for maybe a minute. And then they are back, seeking out the easy
food.
Sure, they chew on the seeds drying on the
maple tree or they taste the leaves of the hibiscus plants or they eat the tiny
pears on the neighbor’s tree, but they like the easy food.
Yesterday morning, one of those little
stinkers actually opened the tin with the corn stashed in it. One of those old popcorn tins you give at
Christmastime. But instead of being
angry with them, I set little piles of dried corn along the railing as almost a
reward for their ingenuity.
As I wrote this, I sat at the picnic table on
the deck, observing the squirrels as they ate and drank, sipping coffee and
learning how the squirrels interacted with each other and with me, their source
of the easy food.
Then the birds started arriving. Chickadees, first, flitting into the fly-through
feeder, grabbing a seed and flying back into the tree to eat it. Sparrows poked their heads out from behind
the leaves, checking to see if they could get in on the easy food. Soon a
cardinal, blue jay and nuthatch would sneak a morsel. It would take a while for
the squirrels to eat their fill, but hopefully, they would leave enough to
share with the birds.
One squirrel claims the finch feeder that I
have given up putting finch feed into.
She growls at or chases any other squirrel as it gets too close, but she
also spills seed onto the deck for the scavenger eaters. Kind of a manna from heaven, I suppose.
I don’t feed them every day. I feel like they need to learn to eat natural
foods—foods they have to learn to find in the trees and grasses—foods they will
need to survive on when the snow gets deep and I can’t fill the feeders. But they still appreciate the easy food; food
that helps them to survive from one day to the next.
We like easy food, too. The shelves at the grocery store are filled
with easy-this and instant-that. We have
microwaves that speed us through the process of preparing foods. But when we put time into the process, there
is a different satisfaction that comes from the meal. There is something about creating a meal from
raw ingredients and having something whole come from the many parts.
We still have it somewhat easy. I mean, we don’t generally grind the grain
into flour when baking bread. Some
ingredients provide us with a head start.
But how we put the ingredients together can become a holy exercise.
I love to cook and bake. If I were to say that I have an obsession, I
would say it is food, because there is always a meal to plan or groceries to
buy. There are so many different tastes
and textures, colors and recipes, sweet and savory to try! There are always people who are hungry. We always have ingredients for a put-together
meal and easy food, too. The food I
prepare, whether or not it took hours or was easy, needs to provide basic
nourishment. But I find more
satisfaction when I’ve created something that people enjoy eating.
There are always people who are hungry. There is always a need for easy food.
Bread. Every
culture has some form of it. Often it is
the filler—the easy food that stretches the main course so that tummies are
filled enough to get to the next meal.
Have you ever made bread from scratch? It doesn’t matter what kind of
bread—biscuits, naan, white or wheat, tortillas, even quick breads—like banana
bread, or have you made communion bread?
If you’ve ever made bread that requires
rising time and kneading, there is a particular kind of devotion, of patience,
that is required. It isn’t quick. It can be a bit complicated determining the
temperature of the water that will make the yeast activate. Then to integrate the flour, determining the
best texture of the dough so that it isn’t too sticky or will become too tough,
kneading it just the right number of times and letting it set in the right
temperature room so that it will rise.
Next, you wait for the dough to double in size so that you can punch it
down and wait again. It can be hot and
sweaty work. It can be messy with the
flour. But the rhythm of the kneading,
the feel of the dough in your hands, the sight of the rising dough and the
smell, (oh the smell!) of baking bread is, to me, one of the greatest gifts I
can give to another. There is a
different kind of devotion found in patience, in the magic of blending water
and flour that becomes something that binds all of us together, no matter our
culture.
This is why Jesus uses “bread” when he says
“I am the bread of life.” Because it is
a universal food that everyone can relate to as a staple in their menu. And because it is usually plentiful,
relatively inexpensive, and versatile, it is an easy food.
Jesus tells us that he is our staple, always
present for us, always willing to meet us where we are, if only we are willing
to receive him as our savior. It doesn’t matter the process in which the bread
was created, or the form it takes, what matters is that Jesus, that God will be
as available to us as the easy food. We
don’t have to look far, we don’t have to spend a lot—we will always find God in
our midst. It is up to us to take the
bread being offered, to take the relationship with God we are always being
offered.
The Israelites were hungry—they were starving
as a matter of fact, when they complained to Moses. The 5000 who were fed were hungry again. We are hungry, too. When we come to God, no matter where we come
from, spiritually, emotionally, physically, our hungers will be fed. Like manna from heaven, God’s love rains down
upon us. It is up to us to stand in the
rain and experience that love. God is
always there, like the bread basket on the table. We have to reach into the basket and have a
slice.
God IS.
God loves. God sent many signs to
remind us of this, and yet, we stray from knowing God, from loving God. The undeniable truth that scripture teaches
us is that God never leaves us…it is us who leaves God. God waits for us to renew our relationship
with God, always reconciling with us, forgiving us, providing for us. If all it takes is a piece of bread to remind
us of this, then come and eat the bread and drink the wine this morning. Let your hunger be filled with this easy
food. Let your relationship with God and
with Jesus be renewed in this community.
Come and eat of the living Christ and never, ever be hungry. There is plenty to go around. It is and ever will be, easy food.
Let us pray. Feed
us, Jesus. Give us your heavenly bread. Help us to always know your presence in our
lives and that it is only through you that we are truly fed. Amen.