“Hungry for Something More?”

Have you ever been hungry? I mean, really hungry. Like starving hungry. Most of us haven’t. I can’t say I have.

When I was in kindergarten our kitchen cupboards were bare. My mother was able to scrounge around for a little bread meal and make some pitiful looking crackers for my three siblings and me. We had this for our late morning breakfast and nothing more that day. But it’s still hard for me to think of myself being really hungry that day.

Maybe it’s because of what my mother did. My dad was in Germany with the Army. Our government allowance check had not arrived and we were apparently out of money and out of food. I can only imagine what my mother was feeling. As a father today, I can’t imagine what it must be like for a parent to watch over his or her children when they’re hungry. As adults we can all deal with our own hunger a lot better than that of our children.

By late afternoon, it was clear the check was not coming, so my mother asked us to search through the duplex and bring to her every penny and nickel and quarter and dime we could find. It was a treasure hunt, so that was good. It gave something for our growling stomachs to do. She gathered our change in her hands. Then, she asked my older sister to go to the store. I don’t know how much money she had in her hands but it couldn’t have been much.

Do you know what my mother asked my sister to buy? It didn’t seem strange then, but, as a parent, it sure seems strange now. She asked my sister to buy candy. That’s right, candy. Not bread. Not milk. Not something wholesome and nutritious, but candy.

Maybe that’s why I don’t remember being hungry that day. We were going to have candy for dinner! What a thrill. What a wonderfully wise mother.

You see, my mother knew her children would survive a day without food. But she also knew we couldn’t survive without hope. She knew her children were hungry for something more important than bread. We were hungry to know that things were going to be all right. When my mother gave us candy that evening, we knew everything was fine. Our mother was there. We were not alone. And everything was fine. The next day, the check arrived. And I’ve never been hungry again.

This Lent, we’re going to look at hunger at First UMC in a new worship series titled, “kNOw HUNGER: A Lenten Journey into God’s Fullness.” We’ll start with a hunger meal and program on Sunday night, Feb. 26, so we can better understand people who hunger for bread. Then, we’ll bring Lent to a close with a church-wide film, “Live 58,” on Sunday evening, March 25, so we can learn how to fill our spiritual hunger by living out the mandates of Isaiah 58. Holy Week will continue the theme as we join in the food-packing experience of “Stop Hunger Now” on the Saturday before Easter, April 7.

If you’re hungry for something more in your life, don’t miss coming to church during Lent. I think we’ll have something here to fill the void.

Pastor Al Horton

58: THE FILM Trailer from LIVE58NOW on Vimeo.