23 Jul 2021

What do we hunger for?

 There have been many analogies to "The Hunger Games" which appears to be a lawless place where people grab what they need with little regard for the needs of others. We saw some of this in the panic buying which descended upon our cities when people besieged supermarkets. There was a sense of scarcity and fear which saw people desiring to stock up to outlast the storm. Even when there were assurances that there was enough for everyone this did not alleviate the heartfelt concern that we would go without. 

Yet in the Gospel, we see a very different scene where people hunger for the living word which will sustain them. They venture out into deserted places to listen to a voice that will give them hope. They sought healing and renewal of their spirits. What they had become used to no longer filled them and they desired a great depth of life to fill their hunger. This story was not about filling our physical hunger but our deeper need to find a life that will sustain us.

This is wherein the midst of what is considered essential to life we seek to find not just a way to occupy our time or earn a living wage important as these both are. Nor is it just appearing useful or worthy when many of the things that occupy us can appear wasteful. I believe it is at the heart of discovering our vocation that our life takes on a deeper meaning. I believe we seek to be drawn deeper into a relationship with God and each other which sustains our community. By discovering where God's spirit enables us to live for the good of others not just ourselves we discover the spirit which draws our lives together. We are called into a communion that is shared in the breaking of bread and the filling of our deeper hunger. 

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