Devotional - 2/21

Complaining about Hunger
Exodus 16: 1- 8

Donna Schaper

If you've ever been really hungry, you understand what the Israelites were saying. Hunger hurts. It hurts the body, then it worries the mind, and then it scars the soul. Hunger is something too many children live with for too long. They are scarred by it. Hunger scars.

If you've never been really hungry, you probably don't understand what the Israelites were saying. Sure, you can spiritualize the problem and speak of your hunger for recognition or joy. But that would miss the point of this text. During Lent, there is nothing wrong with a little fasting and a little holding back at the table.


Why? We could taste both the desperation of hunger and the joy of being fed. Is it right to borrow experience like this? You can't be really hungry if you know where your next meal comes from nor can you imitate the scarring by not being scarred.

Fasting is a witness to the pain and the love of God. It is not a perfect practice nor is it anything to brag about. It is a token of the respect we have for the hungry. That's all. I mean, that's all.

Prayer: Whenever I eat, however I eat, let me remember those who do not--and pray like heaven for the day when all will be fed as well as I am. Amen.