This Food That Perishes...

John 6:24-35

These days my Friday mornings are pretty much the same.  I start the laundry. I get bread rising. And I clean spoiled food out of the refrigerator. Because food --- or at least most any food you would want to eat --- perishes.

But, of course, it is not only the food we eat Jesus speaks of today. He is speaking of all those things we come to rely on --- no, more than that --- those things for which we tend to spend our life's energy striving.

Indeed, it came to mind again today, a drive I took with a friend many years ago. She was fighting a rare and virulent cancer then: one which would take her life within mere months. We were mostly quiet as we traveled that morning when suddenly she broke our shared silence and she said, "I only wish..." and she paused to catch her breath. I found myself holding my own breath as I waited for what she would say next. "I only wish I hadn't worried so much about money." And yes, I remember well the day her four children emptied out her house and divided up her precious things, particularly the growing pile which would make its way to the city dump. I remember cringing just a bit as I walked through her kitchen to see all this play out.

Oh yes, I have found myself thinking a lot about this food that perishes in these last couple of weeks for the congregation I serve has undertaken the work of replacing our old stained glass window covers. The old ones were installed probably forty years ago. They did their job well in terms of protecting these precious, beautiful windows. In that length of time, however, as they aged, they also yellowed. And so in these last years their beauty has been masked on the outside and on the inside, too, because the light which still came through was dimmed.

Some generous gifts, large and small, has made this work possible. Even so, $58,000 is a lot of money. So yes, I shake my head to think of it, knowing that amount of money could feed a whole lot of hungry people for a very long time. (And while that, too, would certainly be 'food that perishes,' still it could save lives.) These new covers, though, should last long beyond the lifetimes of many of us who gather in this place today. In fact, we are told they are guaranteed to be able to withstand bullets, although it's a little hard to imagine who would want to shoot a bullet through our windows. And yet, of course, one never knows. But even at that? These will one day need to be replaced as well.

As I said, I shake my head a bit at the cost, but even with that, I do find myself taking the long way around the building just to watch the progress and to admire the beauty of those windows which are completed. And at least once a day I climb the stairs with someone up into our worship space to marvel at the light and color which now shines through. Is this also 'food that perishes?' Of course it is. And yet, I am aware that healthy congregations are also good stewards of what has been given them to tend. And when it comes to stained glass windows, one could certainly make a case that as they were once a means for catechesis for those new to the faith, they may still be attractive to those seeking a church home. And that surely promises to be 'life-saving' as well.

So how are we to think now about the 'food that endures for eternal life' as opposed to that which 'perishes?' For, in fact, we can't live NOW without this food which takes up most of our resources as we pursue it, can we?

And yet, I don't want to get to the end of my life and carry the wrenching regret that my friend did when she realized that her energy had been wasted on things that did not matter. And I don't want to get to the end of our shared ministry, wherever it is I may be called to serve, and realize that we worried more about surface beauty --- about the building --- than about those who are brought to faith in it and through it.

I don't know this for sure,of course, but perhaps as you and I seek to follow in the way of Jesus, part of our discipleship path must mean, at the very least, asking ourselves hard and important questions earlier rather than later. I mean, again, I don't know how it is that we live without the 'food that perishes.' Jesus knew that, too, of course  --- just look back to him feeding the crowd of 5,000 last Sunday. Even so, I also know that if that is all there is for us? We are already perishing in terms of what matters most of all.

• What do you think Jesus is getting at when he contrasts the food that perishes with that which endures for eternal life? What examples would you give of each? What experiences would you bring to this important conversation?
• How are you and I called to 'balance' our need for the 'food that perishes' with our greater need for that which 'endures for eternal life?' What does this look like for you in the day to day of your life? In the life of your congregation?

"Starving One's Body to Feed One's Soul"

John 6:24-35

I heard this said a while back and it has stayed with me…

 When serving a meal, the host with the fewest material resources will ask if her guests have had enough to eat…

That those who call themselves “middle class” will wonder about how the meal tasted…

And that those on the high end of the economic spectrum will be concerned about a meal’s presentation…

I count myself in the middle group and have to say, that most of the time, have not been all that concerned about a meal’s presentation.  At the same time, as you might expect, my cupboards have never been empty.  Hunger is not something I’m terribly acquainted with, unless you count those tiny twinges I sometimes feel when I’m coming up on mealtime --- but even with those, I’m never certain if they are prompted by actual hunger or simply the time on the clock.

I don’t know much of hunger.  For that matter, I can't say I have ever intentionally chosen to get to know it better.

And so we come now to week’s Gospel lesson where we hear Jesus speak of being the ‘bread of life’ and his promise that ‘whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’  And while it is true that given my lack of experience (and that of most of my listeners this Sunday) with actual physical hunger, I am tempted to extrapolate this to all those sorts of hunger which I have known: hunger for recognition, for acceptance, for healing, for hope… and yes, of course, that would also be true.  Jesus, no doubt, is speaking of those hungers as well.  Even so, I'm going to start where Jesus does where his first listeners understood him well. With physical hunger.

A couple of days ago I was running back and forth between various kinds of visits and had my radio tuned into the local NPR station.  The Olympics are upon us again and I have to say, while the competition itself is interesting, the stories that have shaped those athletes are what always capture my imagination.  I wondered then as I drove and listened --- Is this the first year that we have fully paid attention to the huge diversity of those who will put their skills to the test on the field of play this Olympic season, or did I just somehow miss it in previous years? For I have noted more than one story about Muslim athletes in this Olympic cycle. As I drove and listened I found this story, in particular, offers a parallel to what Jesus speaks of in this week’s Gospel.

For it seems that Ramadan and the Olympic Competition fall at the same time this year.  Ramadan, of course, is that holy season in which Muslim brothers and sisters will be called upon to fast from sunrise to sunset.

So here is how the story begins,

Mazen Aziz, representing Egypt in the 2012 Summer Olympics, has trained for the 10,000 meter, open water swim for years.  It’s a grueling race that can take upwards of 1 hour and 45 minutes, depending on the waves, current, or water temperature.  But Aziz is Muslim, and with the Olympics falling during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the 22-year-old athlete had to make a choice: be in top physical condition or maintain a primary tenet of his faith.

It turns out the authorities in Egypt have given Aziz a way out, that he can postpone his fast, just as Muslims who are sick or pregnant can.  This won’t be true for all Muslim athletes, however.  Others will have to make a much more difficult choice.

Indeed, for many the dilemma boils down to this. As Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, who serves at the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Virginia, explains it, "Do I starve my body and feed my soul?  Or in this month, do I starve my soul to feed my body, and my appetite for Olympic gold?” (for the whole story click here.)


Now it seems to me that understanding is not so different from the one Jesus offers now when he says, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life…”

(John 6:27)


So I'm thinking now of turning my attention to the whole ancient discipline of fasting.  To try it on and consider what it may teach me about hunger.  Maybe this will mean fasting in ways I have not yet.  Perhaps it will mean simply paying attention when I wake in the morning to the hunger I always feel before breaking that daily fast.  It could be that even that would help me go deeper in my understanding of what it is to hunger for the things that matter, the food that endures, the food that is Christ's love and power and forgiveness and hope.

• What do you think Jesus is getting at when he speaks of 'working for the food that endures?'  Does the comparison to Muslim athletes needing to make a choice between feeding one's soul or one's body work?  Why or why not?
• Have you ever known hunger?  If so, how do you think you hear Jesus' words today differently as a result of your experience?  If not, how do you hear Jesus' words in this week's Gospel?
• What disciplines help you keep in touch with your hunger for the 'food that endures?'  Do you fast?  How do you pray? What role does regular worship play in this for you? (And for those of us who are regular leaders of worship, how does that work for you?)