What Am I Hungry For?

"Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?" They went out of the city, and were coming to Him. Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." But He said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about." (John 4:29-32)

I opened my Bible this morning to this passage that I have been meditating on for so long now and at first could see nothing that jumped out at me. But I know from good experience now that God always has something waiting for me if I am ready to listen and allow my heart and spirit to be tuned to hear His voice. So I read these verses over a couple of times looking for anything that might be of interest that might act as a clue to what is waiting.

Then it nearly jumped off the page. Look at all the different ways people expressed their hunger in this story and how different were the things that they craved. From what I can see so far, it appears that the disciples themselves were the only ones in this story that were only hungry for just plain food and they were left standing in puzzlement about all the commotion going on as everyone else began feasting on food that they had not yet learned to appreciate very well.

The beginning of the story starts out saying that Jesus was very tired and thirsty. But that is only part of the context as is seen later in the story. His body was thirsty and likely also quite hungry as evidenced by His disciple's concern for Him to eat after they returned from town, but His soul seemed to be hungry for something much more than physical food and that emotional hunger seemed to become the dominant interest for Him very quickly. He was so hungry to share the good news about God with people who were ready and were desperately hungry for that revelation that it soon eclipsed almost completely His physical hunger.

The woman who showed up at the well soon after the disciples had left to go buy food in town was also very hungry, but again not for regular food like we usually associate with hunger. As evidenced by her past history and her conversation with Jesus and what happened at the end of that conversation, she was very hungry for love, for healthy, bonded relationships, for healing for her damaged emotions and heart that had been wounded and abused for so long by other people in her life, for community where she might enjoy respect and inclusion. All the evidence points to the perception that these things had conspired to starve her emotionally and she was dying of that starvation and ready to devour the kind of food and water that Jesus was eager to share with her.

But these were not the only hungry people in this story. This woman, though apparently ostracized to a great extent by her own people and certainly by most Jews, knew that people back in town were really hungry as well. Never mind that they were often the source of her pain and shame; as she began to taste the wonderful water that Jesus was offering her she suddenly realized that all those who had been hurting her for so long were really acting out of their own pain and brokenness too. And this is always the case. When our own hearts are wounded we tend to turn around and inflict similar wounds on others along the way.

But the nature of the food and water that Jesus shared with this woman motivates a person to suddenly see others differently, to have sympathy and compassion for the very people that before we tried to avoid to minimize our pain and exposure. Now, instead of wanting to stay far away from everyone in her community as she had likely done for quite awhile, she now could not stop herself from rushing back home to arouse the curiosity of everyone else and tantalize them with the offer of food and living water that could really satisfy where they were really hungry. She had discovered water that could eliminate her thirst forever as Jesus had promised her and she could not be content to just enjoy it alone; she had to invite others to enjoy it with her.

That is the nature of eating and drinking after all, isn't it? Eating a good meal just never has the same level of enjoyment and satisfaction when done alone as it produces when shared with others. There is an incredible bonding effect that can take place when people eat together. God designed us that way and Jesus tapped into that truth when in Revelation He asks us to allow Him to come in and eat with us. (Rev. 3:20) In middle eastern culture, especially in those times, when a person was allowed to come in and eat with you, a covenant was formed that was extremely significant and powerful. So long as that person was within the boundaries of your house or tent you were obligated by custom to treat them as honored guests and even protect them with your very life if necessary – even if they happened to be your worst enemy.

I find it interesting and wonder what might be hiding behind the fact that Jesus did all of this from outside the city mentioned in this story. While His disciples went into town to buy food – and also had opportunity to share good news with others but which never seemed to cross their mind – Jesus stayed out at the well where all the good stuff began to really happen. By the time the disciples returned with goodies for what they thought was the most important part of their needs, Jesus and the woman were already both so energized from feasting on far more delightful food with their spirits that they couldn't figure out what was going on. All they could see was that He was sitting with a look of ecstasy and delight on His face while she was rushing past them racing into town to hail everyone she could find to come join a party.

It is almost humorous if it wasn't so sad, how the disciples were left standing around completely clueless as to what was really going on. They found themselves bewildered because what they considered important wasn't being paid attention to at all. At the same time what really was important was going right over their heads because of the prejudices that prevented them from enjoying the same food and drink that was getting everyone else around them so excited. It is not only terribly sad that they missed out on all the bonding and fellowship that everyone else was enjoying all around them but it is a serious warning to all of us today who find ourselves in the very same position.