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Me Want
Cookie
by Reverend Amber Neuroth
August 6, 2006
2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a; Ephesians 4:1-16; John 6:24-35
These days, I usually think of the scripture readings in
terms of what would make a good “Children's Time.” So, I wish we had a
children's time today because I would have liked to ask them about how
they get what they want or how they TRY to get what they want. I would
have asked them to whine in their best possible whiny voices- “Mom,
Dad,” “I want that…. Can you buy me that?” We've probably heard this
kind of thing from kids before and we may even have been guilty of it
ourselves. Children express so well many of our innate human drives
without the politeness and socialization that we learn later. We all
hide it better now, but let's face it, sometimes there's a pouting,
whining child deep down inside all of us. When I read today's story in
Exodus, I can just hear that whiny childlike tone in the voices of the
Israelites. They are out in the desert, wandering around with no end in
sight. They're tired, hot, and hungry. There is definitely a clear “Are
we there yet?” just beneath the surface of their pleas toward God. They
sound like children, desperate for God's attention and provision. They
don't trust that God will provide for them, so they start begging for
more. The story shows the human potential to doubt, to misjudge our own
needs, and consequently to desire things that we don't need. And even
when God does provide the manna and quail, it's only enough for one
day. They probably still wondered if that would be enough. Maybe they
should whine to God for a safe stockpile. Then, what would be next?
Thousands of years later, Jesus faced the same human doubt and he added
further depth to the story. In the Gospel of John, just before our
scripture reading today, Jesus miraculously fed the estimated 5000
people on a couple loaves and fish, in the same way his Father gave
them manna and quail long ago. He showed that he was God's son in the
same tradition of feeding the needy, hungry, and sometimes whiny,
people. Unfortunately, the people he fed didn't understand this
connection right away. They weren't satisfied and went looking for
Jesus again. They persisted that the first sign wasn't enough- they
asked Jesus, “what are you going to do to prove yourself?” Will you be
like Moses and give manna in the desert? Now, this is extremely ironic
given the fact that Jesus had just fed them and they missed the
connection. They like their ancestors only wanted to be fed- they
didn't see who gave them the bread. Jesus tries to tell them that they
are whining for the wrong thing. He says “if you eat that bread, you
will be hungry again…” He means that if we seek only the bread, only
the material satisfaction, then we will be hungry again because we
missed the opportunity for deeper sustenance. We need the source of the
bread to be fulfilled. But those people were still a little slow, so
they just asked for the better bread, that filling kind please. They
didn't see that the fulfillment of Christ was standing right in front
of them.
The people seem like children again unable to understand what's
happening….chasing after the instant gratification and expecting
someone to provide it if they just whine well enough. Here, again we
see a childish desire that really gets to the heart of what it means to
be human. In both of these stories, the people didn't trust God to
provide for their needs and so they may turn toward other things to
provide some tangible sense of security.
In both of these stories, bread represents fulfillment, it's what the
people are seeking after. It doesn't mean literal nourishment. Christ
is challenging when we seek after things that don't really nourish us.
Now, if it were my story, I wouldn't really be seeking bread to fulfill
my childish desires- it definitely would be any kind of dessert,
probably cookies! Loving to eat food that can't nourish us, makes me
think of the cookie monster on Sesame Street. I used to love to watch
that cookie monster. He is the epitome of that desire- he grabs the
cookies and smashes them into his face, not a crumb making it into his
puppet belly. So many of them spill out, but he seeks more and more,
saying “Me want cookie!” We all love cookie monster and identify with
him because he is a part of us, he is a part of human nature- to seek
that which satisfies only for a moment. We see in him our potential to
literally and figuratively fill ourselves up with things that won't
satisfy, but then we turn to them again and again with an insatiable
desire. Jesus is addressing a serious issue that doesn't always involve
bread or food. We probably all would pick something different to be our
temporary satistfaction. Some of us would pick a gourmet meal, an
expensive car, or a lavish house. Or maybe we would pick a top job, or
an advanced degree. Or, maybe we'd chose seeking after the perfect
body, clothes, or appearance. But the point is, whatever we are seeking
after, does it satisfy? Or, as Jesus says, will we be hungry again? So,
the point is not to deny that we feel cravings and desires, it's how we
fill them that matters. Christ is challenging us to take that cookie
monster inside each of us and turn it toward God, to live passionately
and aggressively in God's grace.
The real challenge here is not that we shouldn't seek to meet our
physical needs, it's that we shouldn't seek to meet our spiritual needs
with physical things. This is a complicated distinction that the church
has sometimes missed in the past. For example, the church has sometimes
labeled our desires and physical drives as sin in and of themselves.
But, all that did was create lots of unnecessary guilt and shame when
we still felt those cravings. Jesus is saying the sin comes in the
objects that we choose to fulfill our desires, not the desire itself.
Are we intentional about what we seek for fulfillment or do we
haphazardly throw cookies in our face? We need to remember that true
fulfillment comes from God. If we try to fill our spiritual needs with
material things instead God, we pretty much get what Jesus warned
against, our current culture of consumption. We try to get the next
biggest and best thing, only to feel empty and hungry again. Even in
our church, I hear from you that this is a tough problem in your lives
and in your families. One of our parents here told me that no matter
how much their family has, it seems like their child is always looking
at those who have more, newer, and flashier things. The child doesn't
seem content, but rather continues to seek more material satisfaction.
Just like the cookie monster, that's appropriate for a child, but it's
that same childish part of us as adults that Jesus wants to challenge.
Jesus is asking us to grow up. We need to acknowledge that desire and
turn it toward the true bread of life. Jesus is begging us to seek him
instead.
So, in the story, Jesus finally tells the people that he is the bread.
He gives up that the people will figure it on their own, so he just
comes out and tells them that God is what they need. But, even if we
know that, can we make the sacrifice to turn away from all of our other
“breads” to seek him? This scripture challenges each of us to face
that, and to think about what bread we are really seeking in the place
of God. All of us have different ones, but it's those weaknesses that
we need to bring to God! That's what we bring to this communion table.
And the good news is that Jesus promises that we will never be driven
away- ever, no matter how weak we are. Jesus knew that the crowd
couldn't be fulfilled until he revealed himself to them. So, Christ
offers the same to us.
Jesus wants us to have that fulfillment both as individuals and as a
community of God's people. Today, we will meet Christ at this table,
not only as individuals coming forward but more importantly as a church
community. So before we approach this table, we need to ask, Is Christ
really at the center of our lives and of our church? What things do we
put above Christ in the life of our community? Sometimes we may put
mundane things like meetings and bottom lines above God. Sometimes we
may even put noble things like social justice and political causes
above Christ. All those pursuits in and of themselves are not bad, in
fact they are all good and necessary, but if we seek them apart from
God, even just causes become empty. God wants be the foundation of all
that we do. God will sustain us and inform everything else that we do.
All of our action will then have meaning because it flows from the true
life-giving bread of Christ.
We all fall down from time to time and need that reminder that Christ
is the center, and I hope that this communion table can be that today.
So, if we have things that are standing between us and the true
glorious love of God, then now is the time. Christ has an invitation
for us. Come to this table. If there is anything that has frustrated or
exhausted you about your lives or this church, bring it to this table.
If you have been chasing after the wrong breads to fulfill you, bring
it to this table. This table is for you to come and drop the stresses,
tasks, and squabbles. This is a chance to reorient our priorities and
be filled with grace. This table is a chance to be healed again and
again. This is a table where we make a commitment to make Christ's
vision a reality. This is the table represents the loving arms of God
that will never turn us away. So, as we come forward, let us affirm as
a church who is our Lord, and who is our center. Let us show that we
have heard Jesus when he said “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to
me will never be hungry. Whoever comes to me, I will never drive away.”
Amen.
Last updated Wednesday, Februrary 29, 2008
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