That Your Soul May Live
Daily Scripture Readings
Monday Genesis 3
Tuesday Jeremiah 2:12–13
Wednesday John 4:1–42
Thursday John 6:1–15, 22–58
Friday John 7:37–39
Saturday Revelation 7:9–17
Opening Prayer
Almighty God, before whom all hearts are open, to whom all desires are known, and from whom no secrets are hidden: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of Your Holy Spirit so that we may perfectly love You and may worthily magnify Your holy Name— through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
The Collect for Purity from the Book of Common Prayer
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
We are consumers by nature.
We were created with various capacities. Among these are what we should think of as ultimate capacities, which bring ultimate fulfillment to our lives: knowing and loving the Triune God who made us in His image and being known by and loved by the Triune God who made us for Himself. Some are various lesser capacities, which bring fleeting fulfillment: food, drink, sleep, fun, etc.
Capacities inevitably bring with them all sorts of potential— potential good by filling us with sustenance… and potential evil by filling us with toxins. And yes, just as some things are physically toxic so also are there things which are spiritually toxic. (One of the many problems for people who are starving is that they might just eat anything— even if it’s poison.)
We are longing people— we were created that way. And we lean toward what we want.
Yes, “plants crave electrolytes.” But they also crave sunlight. They literally lean toward it.
Saint Augustine noted that What do you love? is the greatest question to be asked and the greatest question to answer.
Where’s your life leaning? Wrestle with this question for a moment. Seriously. Please do.
We desire because we have capacities. And so, to fulfill these capacities, we consume. We fill ourselves. We fill our stomachs with food and drink. We fill our calendars with upcoming events. We fill our to-do lists with things that we want to prioritize getting done. We fill our houses with all sorts of stuff in hope that it’ll all somehow make life easier or happier.
But there’s a difference between being a consumer and being caught up in and absorbed by consumerism.
Because people are worshippers (Yes, all of us, in some sense, are.), we often elevate lesser things to ultimate status. For example, we turn science into scientism and rituals into ritualism. Our culture is spiritually starving. This is not unique to us, but it’s certainly true of us. We long for fulfillment, for meaning, for value, for transcendent experiences. And in large part, we’ve been offered only ultimate emptiness for quite some time now. So, we fill our lives with lesser things… non-ultimate things which cannot ultimately satisfy the cravings of our hearts. We give ourselves to various consumptions. A variety of creature comforts. Endless entertainment. Sports that spill over into every single day of the week. Politics that— at once— frustrate, entertain, infuriate, and consume.
Some of us, though, have grown cynical. We’ve tasted various things under the false-promise that they’ll satiate our hunger and thirst for meaning, but we’ve found ourselves still empty and increasingly unsatisfied. So, we soften our desires, hoping to protect ourselves from disappointment. This isn’t unique to us, of course— the Stoics did the same, as have others.
And yet…
Jesus invites us to feast at His Table— to feast on what He has to offer. And what does He offer us but Himself? Sure, He offers us all sorts of creature comforts. But most ultimately, He offers us the only thing that can ultimately fulfill our longing hearts: His very life. The life He has in the Father through the Spirit. The triune life of the Triune God.
So, He invites:
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scriptures have said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now, this He said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive, for as yet, the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. —John 7:37b–39
He pleads:
“Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” —Matthew 11:28–30
And He promises:
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” —Matthew 5:6
What does it mean to hunger, and how do we develop a hunger for the True Bread, the Bread which alone can satisfy? It means to desire and long for the life of God offered to us in Christ… which implies it also means to lean toward Him, to move ourselves toward His life.
And how? Well, we were created for it, so in a sense, it ought to come naturally.
Saint Augustine, again: “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, so our hearts are restless till they find their rest in You.”
However, we’re also fallen, so finding the fulfillment of this longing it doesn’t just come naturally. In a sense, Jesus is an acquired taste.
And not only that, but we have developed hungers for all sorts of lesser “breads”— breads made of poorer ingredients, breads with all sorts of junk in them… toxins, really.
So, what do we do?
We try the Bread of Life. We’ve got to show up for the Meal. We’ve got to saddle up at the Table. We spend time with people who enjoy it. We learn from others whose palates are more refined than ours. We lean on others who’ll continue urging us to not neglect the Table but to come and feast.
And we continue to feast, as often as we can— experiencing the Life of God at various times and even, perhaps, in a variety of ways. We read Scripture. We pray prayers. We sing songs. We attend worship. We participate in worship. We enter into holy conversations with others. We “re-build” family altars. We linger long with friends in the Faith and fellowship together.
“My Father gives you the True Bread from Heaven. For the Bread of God is He who comes down from Heaven and gives life to the World.”
May the posture of our hearts become and forever be: “Sir, please give us this bread… always.”