10 Pentecost B – Proper 14 (13 August 2006)
John 6:37-51
Pr. George L. Murphy
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Akron OH

THE ANSWER TO SPIRITUAL MALNUTRITION

There are a lot of starving people in the world.  They simply don’t have enough to eat, and will gradually wither away and die.  It’s a major problem.

There’s another problem that often gets confused with that, malnutrition.  The dictionary defines that as “faulty or improper nutrition.”  A steady diet of Pepsi and cotton candy will get enough calories into your body, but you won’t have the protein or  vitamins and minerals that your body and mind need to function properly.  You’ll be malnourished.  All starving people are malnourished but not all malnourished people are starving.

The spiritual problem of the world is sometimes described as a religious hunger:  People are starving for spirituality and spiritual values.  But I think it would be more accurate to call it a problem of spiritual malnutrition.  There’s plenty of religion in our culture – something like ninety-five percent of Americans say that they believe in God.  Most people are getting some kind of religion in their diet, whether it’s labeled as religion or not.  The real question is whether or not they’re being spiritually nourished.  Are they getting the real thing or religious junk food?

It’s not a new problem.  The Book of Isaiah pictures God trying to wean his people off junk food.  “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?  Listen carefully to me and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.”

“I am the bread of life” Jesus says in our gospel today.  He is the real spiritual food, the one – the only one really – who can sustain our lives.

The problem of malnutrition in the ordinary sense isn’t limited to people living in poverty who can’t afford the right kinds of food.  There are plenty of people in our affluent society who could afford to eat properly but just don’t:  “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread.”  And it’s the same with spiritual malnutrition.

People could have what they need but they’re content with – or even prefer – junk food.

The kind of faith that people express when they say “I’m not very religious but I believe in God” is spiritual junk food.  For some it provides a nice decoration for weddings and funerals but when times get tough, there’s nothing there.  Belief in God and a dollar or so will get you a cup of coffee.  And belief in God in itself isn’t an adequate spiritual diet, anymore than coffee in itself is an adequate physical one.  Worse than that, belief in God may be not just junk food but genuine poison.  Terrorists who plot to blow up airplanes do so because of belief in their notion of God.

A religion that consists only of kindness to others is also spiritual junk food.  “Can’t we all just get along?”  Well, yes, it would be nice if we could but obviously we have a lot of difficulty in doing it.  The religion – or if you prefer, the humanistic philosophy – of being nice to other people is kind of like that diet of Pepsi and cotton candy.  There’s plenty of sweetness but no sustaining power.  You may not starve but you’ll be malnourished.

What we need in order to be nourished spiritually is “the living bread that came down from heaven.”  Because of Jesus Christ we can not only believe in some idea of God but can know and trust in and rely on the real God who gives us life.  This is the true spiritual food, the knowledge of the God who has made us and all things, who saved us when we had gotten lost, and who gives us the confidence to trust in him.

Being nourished spiritually means being able to grow spiritually.  Unlike a lot of fast food religions, Christianity is not a faith in which people are to be locked in by a rigid set of rules.  “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” Jesus says in another place in John’s Gospel.

When we have this bread we are given a hope and reality of life that transcends the limits of our everyday experience.  There is a reason why Jesus speaks of himself not just as bread but as “the bread of life.”  Three times in this short passage Jesus promises people who believe in him that “I will raise them up on the last day.” 

And you’ve heard the saying “You are what you eat.”  Receiving and being fed by Jesus Christ means becoming more like him.  When that happens we will see other people as our sisters and brothers and be concerned for their welfare.  We will grow to love others with a love that has some staying power because it is sustained by the God who is love, the God whose identifying act is the giving of himself for us.

Unlike cotton candy, the bread of life is not always sweet.  Sometimes it has a bitter taste to it – like some medicines perhaps.  That is a sign of its genuineness.  God gives us what we need for life, not always what will tickle our religious taste buds at the moment.  The true God really is concerned to give us, and all people, abundant life.