“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry.” – John 6:35 (NRSV)
I really enjoy the music of rocker, Bruce Springsteen. I saw Springsteen in concert at Chicago’s Soldier Field in 1985 when I was in high school. From that point on, I have been a huge supporter and enthusiast. I have seen Springsteen in concert a number of times.
A few years ago a colleague told me that Springsteen has something in common with perhaps the most famous theologian of all time, Saint Augustine, the Fourth Century Bishop of Hippo. My colleague told me that Augustine’s famous words, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in thee,” connect to the words Springsteen sang in the song, Hungry Heart. In the song, Springsteen sings, “You lay down your money and you play your part, everybody’s got a hungry heart.”
Now this might be a bit of a stretch, but both Augustine and Springsteen, separated by 1,700 years, address the matter of hungry, restless hearts. We are made that way . . . hungry, restless, with a deep need within us for something meaningful. We want to experience God, and we want our Lord to carry us forward.
We are in some challenging times right now. The news around us has the capacity to bring great anxiety. Whether it is news on the global, national, state, or local level, there is much out there that can give us a restless heart. Yet, there is constant hope. We find hope in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. A trust in Jesus as our constant source of strength can bring comfort.
The Lenten Season is a time of forty days and forty nights in which we contemplate the nature of our restless heart. We spend time pondering “who we are” and “whose we are.” We engage in the spiritual disciplines like meditation, prayer, and study that bring us closer to Christ Jesus.
I invite you to join us in worship this month as we begin Lent. We will look at the life and teachings of Jesus with a sermon series entitled, “The Way.” We hope you will experience some inner peace that can propel you to live and serve in a faithful manner!
Grace and peace, Pastor Scott