HUNGRY

Lent is a very sacred time for Christians as they prepare to enter into the suffering that produces new hope in a world where people are hungry for food, for justice, for love and for life.  Human beings are very complicated and they make religion and belief into complicated practices.  The cross reminds me of how much God loves us all.  It is a paradox, a mystery, confusing and even confrontational.

Many people have said to me that they will not teach their children about God or religion because they will be indoctrinating them into religious belief.  Instead of shutting out freedom the Spirit calls us to be free in our expression of our faith. 

I have tried to put good food on the table for my children, as most parents do.  I think that they need nourishing food to help them grow strong and healthy bodies.  It is good for us to have a moment to be thankful before we eat.

For the food before us
and the friends beside us
And the love that surrounds us
we are truly thankful.   -anonymous.

Jesus had a simple meal as his last supper; bread and wine were inexpensive and ordinary.  The sacred and the holy comes to life in the sharing of a common meal.

When I have had  to go hungry for a day or so before a test I feel how uncomfortable and painful it is to be hungry.  Those who experience this day after day would see food as something they longed for and it is what we all need.  Lent can be a time of giving up food or a  time to understand the suffering in the world and give to those who are hungry. 

Jesus was promising his disciples to nourish and strength them with the promise that he would be with them forever.  There is a spiritual hunger that can be just as painful and real as the physical which we can try and deny   but there comes times in my life when I feel it.