In the TV show, Seinfeld (“the show about nothing”), this was a recurring theme. Someone suggests food, Jerry thinks about it, and then he agrees by saying, “I could eat.” Though Jerry never did so, one could easily place the emphasis on the word “could.” What the scene always says is this: before someone suggested eating, Jerry wasn’t thinking about eating. It is only after it has been suggested that he thinks, yes, he might like to eat.
So, “could” is the right word. He isn’t hungering, exactly, just willing to eat when, moments before, he wasn’t even thinking about food. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in an almost identical situation and echoed Jerry’s answer. It’s a pretty common situation for most of us. And I guess, technically, that might fall under the heading of “hunger.”
There is another kind of hunger, though, that I wager you have also experienced: the one where you get up, wander about your house thinking you want . . . something. You just don’t know what. You find yourself in the kitchen, thinking, “Maybe I want food.” You open the fridge or the pantry (or both in succession, possibly more than once), look at what’s there and . . . nope. Nothing there looks like it’s that “something” you wish you could name; that je ne sais quoi which just will not stop pestering you.
That, for certain, is a kind of hunger.
The case could be made that each of this week’s Lectionary passages is about hunger; a hunger for physical food, and a hunger for spiritual food; a hunger for rightness, and a hunger for community. In Exodus, Psalm 78, and John, we read of the Israelites and how God supplied their physical needs for food (Re-read this story if you think God doesn’t have a sense of humor). It’s Jesus, of course, who delivers the real lesson about satisfying hunger. He tells His followers they should not follow Him just because he might miraculously feed them loaves and fishes, again. He wants them to desire the spiritual food being provided by God, the only “food” that truly satisfies.
The 2Samuel passage addresses David’s mistake of confusing a hunger for rightness with a hunger for sex (he should have been in the field with his soldiers instead of wandering about on his rooftop wanting . . . something). And then Psalm 51, a companion piece if you will, deals with David’s desire to be, once again, filled with what he truly hungers for: God’s spirit and forgiveness for his sins. He is empty and he knows it.
It’s the Ephesians passage that ties it all together. Those things that drive us to wander about our houses, to channel-surf all the way round, to stare longingly but unsatisfied at the books in our TBR stack, to desire a je ne sais quoi without resolution . . . that is a hunger for which there is a satisfaction. And Paul nails it when he calls us into community with others who profess to love Jesus: we need the “unity of the Spirit” to fill those empty spaces in our souls so we can proceed confidently (and satisfied) in our relationships with others.
So, the next time you find yourself wandering about, seeking that je ne sais quoi that will not let you go, even if you can’t name it as hunger —maybe especially if you can’t name it as hunger— turn to the Lord and say, “I could eat.”
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Proper 13 (18) (August 5, 2018)
2 Samuel 11:26 - 12:13a
Psalm 51:1-12
Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15
Psalm 78:23-29
Ephesians 4:1-16
John 6:24-35
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When you join us for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast, check to see if we’re at the back of the main dining room of the Waco “Egg and I” Restaurant. We use whatever room they choose, so ask if you can’t find us. We might be in the function room (down the side, near the back). Otherwise: we still meet at 8:00 for a fun and interesting hour of food, fellowship, scripture, and robust discussion.
Blessings,
Steve
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