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How Hungry Are You? Isaiah 55:1-5 & Matthew 14:13-21
 
"Bread" in the Bible is something very significant for our human survival with many illustrations in both OT and NT. And for the purpose of brevity, there are various texts that allude to this. To bring this home with a personal reality, as a child who grew up in a village in Western Nigeria, eating a loaf of bread to me was a luxury. We ate bread only on Sundays, special days or occasions or when a family/relative came to visit us and bought loaves of bread as part of the gifts. When I read Scriptures and notice what "bread = food" (for context sake) stands for as a means of daily survival, I always feel so thankful for the journey of life and the story of survival, which eating a loaf of "Bread" may still be a luxury to some of us, especially with the rising cost of living, in gas and groceries, choosing between priorities of our needs and wants. This week in our readings, God is reminding us what it means to long for what really matters for our spiritual survival in a world that is now more volatile than ever before! 
 
In our first reading: Alternate Stream in Isaiah 55:1-5, it says: “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!... Listen, that you may live.”
God is inviting us as one among people who are/or feel empty — hungry, thirsty, broken — to come to a feast He provides (a place of rest and comfort). Not bread that perishes; but bread that nourishes a weary soul for good. God is ever-ready to make a covenant with His people to replenish and renew their souls. God is the Word that satisfies the soul.
 
And from the Gospel of  Matthew 14:13-21, it shows us what that looks like: 5,000 people were hungry in a desert place. The disciples said, “Send them away.” At the moment in our world we sometimes ignorantly send people away hungry with our attitudes, word of mouth or by our actions - It doesn't have to be food alone. But did you remember that Jesus said, “You give them something to eat.” He took 5 loaves and 2 fish, blessed them, broke them, and fed a crowd — with 12 baskets left over.
The Link
Both passages ask us the same question: What kind of hunger do you have?
1. Isaiah = Soul Hunger - We try to fill ourselves with work, approval, politics, even religion... and we’re still empty. But God says: “Stop spending money on what is not bread. Come to Me, find rest for your souls. My Word is food."
2. Matthew = Physical + Spiritual Hunger - Jesus didn’t preach and ignore empty stomachs. He fed them. But He also showed them that He is the Bread of life. What He blesses and breaks is enough to feed multitudes.
So... How Hungry Are You? Hungry enough to come? Isaiah says the feast is free. You just have to come. Hungry enough to trust? The disciples only had 5 loaves. Jesus took what was little and made it enough. Hungry enough to share, even when it seems it's not enough? After they were fed, they gathered leftovers. When God feeds us, it’s never just for us alone, it's for everyone  that is willing and able regardless who we are across races and peoples.
 
Bottom line:
God isn’t offering snacks. He’s offering your soul a feast, free of charge, to liberate you from sins.  For the soul in Isaiah. So, "Stop, Come and Rest." For the body and soul in Matthew. The question for us today is not “Is there enough?” Oh yes, the feast God is offering is enough. And another question is, “How hungry are you?” Because the One who calls you to the table in Isaiah is the same One who invites you where He breaks bread for you in Matthew. And He will not send you away empty or hungry.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
With every blessing +,

The Reverend Wilson Akinwale