“Meanwhile the disciples besought him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”
John 4:31-32
Food is one of my great delights in all of God’s creation. There is such variety in the world. I love experiencing the culinary delights of different cultures. In January, my family and I were in Israel tasting the many delicious varieties of foods in the Middle East. Each year, the Lenten season reminds me of the inordinacy of my love for foods (especially carbs), as I seek to grow spiritually through the discipline of fasting. Here’s a picture of a street Bakery in Jerusalem. The bagels are incredible! 
As I think about it, I don’t have to wait till Lent to be reminded. I’m reminded each time I step on my bathroom scales. Food is necessary for life. We need food to convert for energy to function the way a motor needs fuel to run. However, the typical American diet goes beyond the bounds of the necessary.
Jesus was well acquainted with the spiritual discipline of fasting. I’m sure His disciples often saw him fast in ways that amazed them. I find it fascinating that in seeing Jesus and His encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, the disciples thought Jesus needed something to eat. They may have thought he was getting delirious from the hunger after a long journey. After all, why else would he be talking to a woman? And a Samaritan woman at that.
Jesus may well have been hungry, but He knew the satisfying feeling that comes from sharing hope with a lost soul. He knew that no physical bread could satisfy the soul like the very word of God. Jesus is the real “soul food”. Both He and the woman went away feeling filled, filled from knowing and doing the Father’s will. That is the filling we seek during the Lenten season.
We seek a filling for all of life, one that won’t fade away. During Lent, we take time out of our everyday routine of eating and drinking to fast for more of the only thing that can truly satisfy us – God. And, it is in that filling that we find the source of our joy. It is food for our souls to know and be known by our creator.
As you begin this second week of Lent, spend some time with Jesus at the well. I promise you won’t go away hungry or thirsty.
Shalom,
Pastor Brad
My daily Lenten prayer – “Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit. ” NRSV
Don’t you hate it when someone says to you, “Is it too much to ask?” If I hear those words, (Which always seem to carry a note of disgust in their tone) correctly, I’ve let them down in some way. Maybe it was a breakdown in communication, or perhaps I just didn’t want to do what was asked of me. Either way, in their mind, I let them down. I hate to let people down.
Sometimes, I sense God saying those words I hate to me… “Brad, can’t you be happy with your comfortable life I’ve blessed you with, your family and friends, the roof over your head and all the food in your pantry? Is that too much to ask?” I know I’m not the only one with this problem of thanklessness; it seems to be pandemic in our culture.
Many people walk through life with heavy hearts. Some are heavy because of sadness or grief, some because of consequence. To some people Lent seems a time for sadness. They dwell upon their sin and sing “woe is me”. They think that in their sadness the Lord is pleased. While it is true that we should be sorrowful for our sins, it’s not true that we should dwell in that sorrow.
The taste of Life Boy soap in my mouth still lingers when I remember that day. I was sitting on the back steps of our friends’ house in Colorado Springs. My friend was teaching me to play a game. Every time you say a “cuss” word you get slugged in the arm. There were two points to that game; to see how many cuss words you can think of, and to see how tough you were in who could take the most hits.
When I was a little boy of 4 or 5 years, and people would come to our house to visit, I always thought they were coming to see me; of course, they weren’t. But that didn’t stop me from wanting to be in on everything that was being said. I didn’t want to miss out on anything. The guests had come to see my Mom or Dad, but that wasn’t obvious to me. After all, why wouldn’t they come to see me? But then, what my Mom and Dad would usually say to me was crushing.
Death Valley, California has the hottest ever recorded temperature on earth at 134 degrees F. on July 10, 1913. I can’t even imagine walking through a valley that hot. The Valley floor surface is 282 ft. below sea level and is mostly flat; it’s walls are surrounded by high cliffs and mountains which can range to over 11,000 ft. above sea level. Scientists say the shape, size and depth of the Valley cause its temperatures and air circulation patterns to function kind of like a convection oven. Pretty much nothing lives for long in Death Valley.
The season of Lent is one of my favorite times of the Christian calendar. Trust me, it’s not because I love to fast. I’m still learning the joy of that discipline. While I understand the need for fasting to better rely on God’s strength to overcome my human desires, it’s still a difficult thing for me to do. It’s sort of like I feel I need to set my love for gourmet cooking on a shelf for forty days and try not to think about it. Lent serves not only as a reminder that my human desires easily become disordered, but also as an opportunity to become more fully engaged with my spirituality. Kind of like a time to concentrate on the practice of my faith.