Growling Hunger

2021-08-01 – Year B – Proper 13 – The Rev. Canon Christopher M. Klukas
Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15; Psalm 78:14-26v; Ephesians 4:1-16; John 6:24-35

  • Feeling the need to go to the grocery store.

God’s Provision in the Wilderness

  • When God’s people departed from Egypt, they took as many supplies as they could (Exodus 12:37-39).
    • There is no grocery store in the wilderness! They were now a month and a half into their journey (Exodus 16:1) and they were running low on food.
    • What did they do? Grumble (v. 3). Can you blame them?
    • What did the Lord do? He provided abundantly. Quail that evening and daily provision of manna thereafter for the rest of their 40-year journey.
      • God designed the Manna to last for only one day (or two on the morning before the Sabbath).
      • God’s intention, over time, was to teach them to remember and rely on him daily for all of their needs.
  • Have you ever felt concerned about running low on things you need? What do you do?
    • Grumbling is our natural response. Perhaps anxious feelings or scrambling and striving for solutions as well.
    • The Lord invites us to open our hands and ask.
    • Our father who art in heaven…give us this day our daily bread.
      • God has limitless resources and he delights to bless his children with what they need. Matthew 7:9–11.
      • Remember God’s provision for you in the past. Remember the stories in the Scriptures about his provision. You can trust him!

God’s Provision for our Church

  • I thought today might be a good day to update you on our church finances.
  • Through the end of June, we have a positive cash flow of $1,994.66. This is something to celebrate!
    • The last few years we have had a negative cash flow at this point in the year and we have ended the last few years with a deficit.
    • Last year could have been a financial disaster, but the Lord provided for us through a Payroll Protection loan which has now been forgiven.
    • The vestry has had to make some tough choices, including cutting back on staff hours, but it seems that we are now living within the means of the Lord’s provision.
  • God is providing for us! Of course he would! You can add this to your list of stories of God’s provision.
  • Thank you all for your continued financial support of our church. You all are the chief means of God’s provision to allow Good Samaritan to carry out our mission.
  • Current needs:
    • Music Minister | Volunteers for office and tech team
    • Please join us in praying for the Lord to meet these needs.

Hunger for the Bread of Life

  • Before we conclude, we need to take a look at one other way that God provides.
  • The Gospel lesson today follows the feeding of the five thousand in John’s Gospel.
    • Through that miracle, Jesus demonstrated that he was capable of doing something only God can do: providing bread for his people in the wilderness!
  • On the next day, the crowd found him on the other side of the Sea of Galilee in the town of Capernaum. They were eager for more!
    • Jesus responds to this crowd in John 6:24.
    • He continues with an important instruction in v. 25.
      • There is something more important than bread!
    • After a bit more conversation, Jesus reveals that he himself is the bread of life (v. 35).
  • When we work for the food that perishes, we are living for today. We need this food to sustain our bodies. Without it we will get hungry and eventually die.
    • But the hunger we have for food points to a deeper, spiritual hunger.
    • Not everyone is aware of this hunger, but everyone has it.
    • If we are not aware of this hunger, we will misinterpret it and try to fulfill it with the wrong things.
    • Only Jesus can satisfy this deep hunger—only Jesus is the bread of life.
  • So do not live for your daily bread. Eat it and give thanks to the one who provides it, but do not live for it.
  • Rather, live for the bread of life who can satisfy the deepest longings of your heart.

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