4th Sunday of Lent 29 Mar 2020 Sermon

4^th Sunday of Lent 22.3.20 Yearning for God 

There was enough food to feed the five thousand, but also a lot left over. God is abundant in His blessings, and also in the scope of those blessings.

The multiplication of the loaves symbolises God’s power to satisfy a deeper hunger.

There is food that satisfies the spirit. This is not easy to do because our spirits have a yearning for the infinite.

Whenever we find something that inspires us we want that thing in greater quantities. For example, if we see the ocean, or a sunset, or a mountain, we are moved by their beauty. We want more of that beauty; and more frequently if possible.

Ultimately it is God that we seek. St Augustine put it: our hearts are made for Thee, O Lord, and they cannot rest unless in Thee.

That is the truth, and it holds for everyone, though many will deny it, some vehemently.

People might not realize what they are yearning for.  If we live for this life only we think we need only worldly things – food, drink, sex… then do it all again tomorrow.  Happiness or misery consists in having these things or not.

As to what it all means – who knows?

Just denying that one needs God does not remove the need. We may not seek Him; we still need to find Him.

There is some happiness in the worldly way, but it fails to satisfy. There is that restless yearning that St Augustine described.

This is what Our Lord was saying through the miracle: if you are impressed with this, wait till you realize what I am really bringing you.

Look higher, or deeper, and you will find great mysteries unfolding.

It is a yearning but a pleasant one. Like always being hungry, and always being able to satisfy that hunger as well.

We draw on God enough to satisfy, but never all there is. The more we taste the more hungry we are to know God better. Taste and see that the Lord is good (Ps 33 (34), 8).

It takes a certain amount of patience and perseverance. One has to wait sometimes. God will not always perform a miracle at the first moment.

He is wanting to raise expectations and teach people to go deeper, such as looking at the way they live.

God will not be bound by our expectations, but will constantly challenge and surprise us.

Even if we don’t know how God will act, we know that He knows what to do - so we have perfect trust.

We are looking for something without quite knowing what it is. We can imagine a better life than we have had, and a better world than we have ever seen. But here we are looking for something not just a little bit better but a whole different dimension.

God wants to share Himself with us. He wants, more than we do, that we do discover Him.

Offering Himself as food is a statement of what He can do, and how far He will go to make it right for us.

He will encourage anyone who does seek Him. No matter where we have roamed we can return.

He will seek out the lost, even the evil, for the sake of giving them a better way forward.

He offers Himself as the Bread of Life. Let us not refuse the best offer we will ever get.