Jesus said to the crowd, “You are looking for me, not
because you saw signs,
but because you ate your fill of the loaves.” --John 6: 26
Have
you noticed the number of food-related shows on television these days? We as a society seem to be fixated on
food. We are fascinated by how it is
cooked, how it’s eaten, how it’s made. We even are entertained by seeing how
much food someone can eat, how fast he can eat it, and how hot he can stand for
it to be! We seem to be obsessed with
food!
We
are so fixated on these things we put into our body, but what about what we put
into our minds? What about what we put
into our hearts?
During
the month of August, I’m preaching a sermon series on our spiritual diets. I’ve
paired the gospel lectionary texts with some popular cooking shows to see what
we might include in our spiritual diets that might satisfy our souls.
First,
let’s consider adding the ingredient of
gratitude to our lives, as we look at the “Top Chef Challenge” the crowds
presented to Jesus.
In
the reality television show, Top Chef,
contestants are judged by a panel of professional chefs who set up spectacular
challenges for them. And if they are
able to accomplish the task, the judges set another one that is even more
difficult than the first! One challenge was to create a two-egg breakfast dish
in ten minutes—using only one hand. On a
Christmas episode, each contestant had to choose a wrapped gift from under the
tree, and use whatever ingredients were inside to whip up a dish. Another time the chefs had to prepare a
four-course meal consisting of scallops, lobster, duck and Kobe beef. They were given 30 minutes to shop with a
limited budget, and only two hours to prepare the entire four-course
dinner.
No
accomplishment is ever enough, no achievement exciting enough, stupendous
enough, fantastic enough. The judges
always want more.
When
the crowd followed Jesus to the other side of the sea, they were challenging
him as if he were a contestant in Top Chef Challenge. Jesus had just performed an incredible
miracle. In a crowd of five thousand men
alone, plus women and children, Jesus took five loaves of bread and two fish
and multiplied them into enough food to feed everyone—with some leftover! But instead of being grateful for this
miracle, instead of recognizing this as a sign that Jesus was indeed the
Messiah, the one who would bring them salvation, they ran after Jesus clamoring
for more.
Oh,
you gave us bread and fish? We liked
that! You get a good score and go on to
the final challenge! Let’s see what you
can do next!
Instead
of being grateful for what Jesus had given them, they had a “what have you done
for me lately” attitude.
It’s
no wonder Jesus went off to be by himself to pray. When they realized he wasn’t there, they
followed him, hounding him like obnoxious paparazzi going after the latest
celebrity. Jesus knew that they had
followed him “not because you saw the signs,” he said, “but because you ate
your fill of the loaves” (v. 26).
How
often is this our attitude? We challenge
God with more and more requests, instead of recognizing what God has done for
us and being grateful.
Think
about your prayers. Are you in the habit of praying those “I’m-late-again-please-let-me-find-a-parking-place”
prayers, seeing God as a magic genie who will give you what you wish for? How much of your prayer time is spent
thanking God, and how much is spent asking for things?
Spiritual
maturity includes recognizing the love and sacrifice of God and expressing our
gratitude. Just as it pleases a parent
to receive thanks from a child, so it pleases God when we thank him. But gratitude is not only something we do for
God; it is something we do for ourselves.
Adding the ingredient of gratitude to our spiritual diets helps us to be
happier and healthier people.
You’ve
heard the saying, “Have an attitude of gratitude.” Gratitude really is a choice we make about
what kind of perspective we are going to have about the world. When we have an
attitude of gratitude, we may be amazed at the blessings we have received that we might
otherwise have overlooked. This helps us appreciate the simple things in
life that mean so much--the stranger who stopped in the grocery store parking
lot to help you pick up a dropped grocery bag, the compliment from a co-worker,
the joy of reading to a child, the opportunity to help someone in need. And
studies have shown that people who practice gratitude actually have healthier
and happier lives!
One way to add the
ingredient of gratitude to our lives is to keep a gratitude journal. There are a number of packaged gratitude
journals on the market that people can buy to record their blessings, but all
you really is need is a blank book or notebook. And while it is a good
idea simply to list things for which you are thankful, I would encourage you to
keep a spiritual gratitude journal. Before you go
to bed at night, think back over the day. Write about where you saw God
at work in your life or in people or events around you. Write down at
least five blessings you have received during the day, and give thanks to God
for those blessings. You may even want to write a prayer of gratitude to
God.
You might
also meditate on a verse of scripture, like Psalm 136: 1: “O give thanks
to the Lord, for he is good! His steadfast love endures forever.”
Or use the text of a favorite hymn to help you express your gratitude, such as,
“For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies, for the love which
from our birth over and around us lies.
For the joy of human love, brother, sister, parent, child; friends on
earth and friends above, for all gentle thoughts and mild, Lord of all, to thee
we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise.”
What beautiful words to help us count our blessings and express our
thanks to God.
When we
are grateful, we feel a connection with God and with other people that is
strong and deep and true. Practicing gratitude, adding the ingredient of
gratitude to our lives, nourishes us so that we may be whole and healthy and
happy people.
Jesus said,
“Do not work for food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal
life . . . I am the bread of life.
Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me
will never be thirsty.” Let’s give
thanks for this gift!
