Sermon for August 1

May the words my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you O Lord, our strength, and our redeemer. Amen

I think just about everybody likes fried chicken. The crunchy crust, the tender inside; just thoughts of the smell and the taste of freshly fried chicken is enough to make your mouth water. Colonel Sanders and his 11 herbs and spices has made millions selling fried chicken but it doesn’t compete with Rushes.

You ever wonder who fried the first chicken? No, it was not here in the sunny American South. If you had to guess what country what would it be? Not even the US; it was in Scotland, of all places! Scotland, of course, is not synonymous with fried chicken, but the Scots, back in medieval times were the only people who preferred to cook their chicken in hot fat, a method we now call frying. In the 1800’s, many Scottish immigrants came to the US, widely populating the American South and bringing fried chicken here. But it was the African slaves who turned the dish into what we know today and gave it life as a deeply rooted soul food staple.

Anybody’s mouth watering yet? Anybody feel hungry? If not you could think about warm chocolate chip cookies with milk or ice cream, or warm bread right out of the oven, fried fish, or maybe bar-b-qued pork.

But the idea is to make you think for a few minutes about you being hungry. But have you really been hungry, really hungry? The hunger you feel when you hadn’t eaten for days. When I was overseas in the Army, we lived off C-rations for about six weeks. It was not like a warm meal unless you were lucky enough to have scrounged up some Sterno, but there is enough calories in them to ward off hunger. By the way, there’s nothing like cold butterbeans and ham for breakfast.

But I have seen hunger. I saw it there in Viet Nam, but more recently, I saw it in the Barrios of Santiago, the capital of the Dominican Republic. Real hunger, real people who lived in shacks of plywood and cardboard. Hunger.
John continues to write concerning what happened after all the people were fed and satisfied. Jesus had gone back to Capernaum. In fact, he walked on the water to get there. The crowd, over on the other side, began looking for him the next morning and found him in Capernaum, the most logical place.

“When did you get here?” they asked. You weren’t looking for me because you saw signs. You’re looking for me so that I might fill your stomachs again. But you need to work for the food that gives you eternal life. And they asked him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” Jesus gave them the answer that John writes in 3:16. “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

They wanted a sign. A sign? Hadn’t they seen? Hadn’t they heard? They wanted a sign that would benefit them in a very selfish and personal way. They wanted things—freedom from the Roman oppression; they wanted it to be the way it was in King Da-vid’s time; they wanted manna and quail without working for it. But it wasn’t Moses who gave them bread from heaven as they claimed in comparing Jesus to Moses. But Jesus told them that was his Father who gave the manna and quail and the same father who gives them (and us) the true bread from heaven.

Jesus goes on: the bread of God is that which comes down from Naturally they wanted this bread–always. Jesus revealed the truth: “I am the bread of life.” Let that sink in.

Jesus came down from heaven to that place to feed them. He came down to feed you and me so that we will never be hungry or thirsty. To feed us the message that God loves us and has compassion on us and that he gives us his grace. And that doesn’t mean everything is as good as fried chicken. Even the Israelites had to work a little bit plucking and preparing the quail that God gave them each evening on their way to the promised land.

God does not promise anyone a life without hardships and disappointments. What he does promise is a life in which he is by your side, someone you can lean on for strength and encouragement.

There are a couple of people going up to Kinard Manor Recovery tomorrow. For the first time, they will introduce themselves as representatives of Recovery Chapel. I don’t know what they will find when they get there, but I know what the women will find. They will find two people who care about them, who want them to succeed in their life-long recovery. They will find two people who genuinely love them. That is something they probably have not felt in a long time.

This is our job, too. We care. We care for those who are less fortunate. We donate school supplies. We donate food staples. While we may not meet these people and physically hand them these gifts, perhaps they know someone cares for them.

In these ways we are feeding our neighbor as Christ has commanded us to do. And the people are hungry! There are so many who have forgotten what it means to have God on and by their side. They search not knowing where to look. They are hungry. Maybe they know where to look for this food but feel unwelcomed or ashamed to admit that they need someone or something to lean on. It’s not a sign of weakness that we can’t do it alone. It’s a sign of strength to recognize that life isn’t easy and our needs are beyond our own abilities. It’s recognizing that God is calling everyone to come and be a part of his great and wonderful family. God wants to feed us.

Jesus feeds us through his words and actions. And for those who hear them, we share those words and actions with those around us. We gain salvation by believing in him. This is the food he gives us. We share this good news with the words and actions he has given us the opportunity to share. We feast on fried chicken. But we also feast on the words God gives us. Let us feast on the bread and wine, the body and blood of Jesus. Let us feast on the heavenly things. Let us feed the hungry.

Amen