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Jesus said, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal … For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’ Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’” –– John 6:27, 33-35
A chef’s nightmare is to prepare a feast only to discover no one has an appetite for it. A parent’s nightmare is to cook a healthy dinner that no one eats because they filled up on junk food. I’ve certainly been guilty of arriving at a dinner event feeling ravenous, and stuffing my face with hors d’oeuvres to the point of not wanting the meal. Caregivers feel the frustration of their loved ones turning away the food and calories their bodies desperately need. And guess what? Through the ages churches, pastors, educators, elders, and deacons have placed a good percentage of their energy and time into the effort of offering a diet of essential spiritual nutrients to a people not so sure they even want it, much less need it. So often, the church finds itself emulating the parent who is pulling out all the tricks to get the finicky two-year old to swallow a spoonful of vegetables –– Here comes the car! Vroom! Vroom! Open the garage door and let it in. And so often in the church, that garage door is locked shut.
The prophet Isaiah posed a crucial question that remains before us –– “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?” Why do we so easily turn away from what we need toward that which offers only superficial sustenance? Isaiah challenges our proclivity to seek everywhere but the source to find what we need –– “Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God?’ Have you not known?Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Jesus is that promise in the flesh. And so, echoing Isaiah, Jesus said, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life.”
In her prayer journal, the acclaimed author Flannery O’Connor wrestles with this dilemma and comes to our precise need. “God has given me everything, all the tools, instructions for their use, even a good brain to use them with, a creative brain to make them immediate for others. God is feeding me and what I’m praying for is an appetite.”
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