Can God Spread A Table in the Wilderness? Exodus 16: Moses had his hands full. It seemed like such a noble job to lead the Hebrew people

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Ralf Dennis
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1 1 Can God Spread A Table in the Wilderness? Exodus 16: 1-18 Moses had his hands full. It seemed like such a noble job to lead the Hebrew people out of slavery in Egypt to the land promised to them generations ago. They had lived in Egypt over 400 years by now, so no one had a memory of home. They had no GPS, no AAA providing a nice itinerary, no comfortable transportation. For that matter, they weren t even sure where there was! They probably looked a lot more like the caravans of people who throughout history have sought safety in numbers as they traveled to a new world. They were discouraged, tired and sore from walking, and hungry. So very hungry. And these people? They became gripey, downright disgruntled. We should have died in Egypt. What made us think following this guy Moses was a good idea? Are we there yet? The Exodus might have made for great movies, but the reality was far less glamorous. Traveling from Egypt to Canaan the most direct way, which was along the rich coastal plains, should have been a journey of 250 miles, or about a month by foot. Even then that would have been an intense and physically exhausting journey, especially with children and people who were not in the prime of their lives. Instead, this group of refugees, whom Moses often referred to as these stiff-necked people, spent forty years. Yes, years! They journeyed over 5000 miles. Obviously, the direct route was not the option they chose. Through the wilderness they trekked - through blistering heat, through the cold of night, through sandstorms, day after day after day. No welcoming inns or hotels in which to relax after a day s walk, no restaurants providing food, nothing like that. Just day in and day out drudgery. And the people complained, and they complained a lot! Yet when this moment in the wilderness of Sin occurred, their journey had only begun. I cannot imagine their temperament improved with time. So they did as people have done since time began. They fell into the trap of blame. They took their anger out on each other, on Moses, even on God. No matter what Moses did, no matter what God did, it was never enough. How utterly exhausting for everyone! To be

2 2 honest, at this point in the story of God and God s people I would like to check out. All that whining, moaning, and groaning! The criticism that was dripped on Moses soul, word by word by word. Moses himself, tasked with an impossible challenge, becoming more and more frustrated. The God who vacillated between profound disappointment and anger. There is so little in this story that is uplifting. It s just before the wonderful family holiday of Thanksgiving. Can t we just find another text that makes us all feel better? Throughout this beautiful story of God and God s people that we find in these scriptures is an invitation to join the conversation, to find our place in the story, to write the next chapter. By the standards of the world, we are far from that caravan. We are sheltered and comfortable financially. Most of us know where we will sleep tonight and even have a choice about what we will eat. It is hard for us to relate to a vagabond group of migrants who were seeking a new home, trapped by circumstances so far beyond their control, complaining even when God provided all they needed. Or wait a minute? Can we after all? When I put myself in this ancient narrative, I find myself mired in its drama. I am angry at the people who were always on Moses case. The guy could not catch a break from these stiff-necked people! 1 I look at Moses, and it is so obvious he never took a course on leadership or congregational dynamics. He was entrusted with this holy task, and he was frustrated with the people and with God every other paragraph! And God. While I am on my personal rant, let s look at God. Surely God could have shown them there was a much more attractive option for travel by going along the scenic coast. You would think the creator of the universe, the one who fashioned this beautiful planet with all its wondrous intricacies, could have been a bit more creative with the menu. Meat by night and bread by day. That must have grown old quickly! Oh, and I realize I have been sucked into the emotional vortex of blame and anger. I don t have to work to find my place in this tale; I am smack dab in the middle of it. 1 Exodus 32:9, 33:3, 33:5, 34:9 NRSV

3 3 Stepping back a bit casts a new light. Those stubborn people? What can one expect from people who are lost, frightened, on a journey they never really wanted to make? Moses was undeniably not qualified for the job. Yet he followed God, he tried so very hard, he sought God out, talked with God. He believed passionately in his mission. Yes, if I move myself out of the emotional drama, I can have compassion for Moses and the people, who were truly doing the best they could in horrible circumstances with so few resources. That compassion will change all of our conversations when we give one another credit for trying our very best day after day. That is certainly one takeaway from this time of the Exodus to not be so quick to rush to judgment about others. Now we take a larger movement back, open wide our arms, and invite God back in the story. While we can learn much from the people s complaining ways and from Moses leadership blunders, the greatest story ever told is the one in our midst. This is God s story, not ours. It tells of the God who is faithful, who walks with the people on this dangerous journey, who provides light by night and cloud by day, who spreads a table of meat and bread in the barren wilderness, of the God who is enough. Oh, how easily we forget that! God is enough. How would that alter how we live our faith if we fully embrace that God is enough? What is enough? One year my son and I went to Reynosa, Mexico, on a mission trip to help build cinder-block homes. The area of Reynosa in which we lived for a week was poor, unbelievably poor even compared to New Orleans. It was a glorious and disturbing week as we immersed ourselves in the lives of people who lived in cardboard shelters, who saved up money to buy safe drinking water from a street vendor, who considered two-room cinder-block squares a luxury residence. We spent an evening at the home of a family who had received a house through Puentes de Cristo, the border ministry there. Knowing we were coming, they had saved money for several months so they could offer each one of us a Coke to drink to celebrate our new friendship. Each night we would gather in the church, which was an open-air building with walls but no ceiling, to worship. People would come from all around! The little

4 4 room was packed! And the joyous gratitude that filled the room was palpable. Yes, they were grateful for what was being done in providing housing and building water filtration systems. But most of all, they were grateful to just be to come together to sing and worship, to celebrate life in all its wonder, to live in the peace that God is enough. They had nothing in material possessions, but they had everything that mattered. They knew God was enough. That is a bit terrifying for us to consider, though. We more often judge the success of our lives and others by what we have gathered by our homes, our investments, our cars and boats, and more. Churches are notorious for evaluating success by numbers. How many were in worship? Did income cover expenses? Can we afford it? There is nothing wrong with those questions. Indeed, the data are useful tools as we plan and look to the future. But when those numbers be it in our personal lives or at church become the primary focus we run the danger of becoming like the people who wandered in the wilderness for so long. We complain about what we perceive we don t have, we hoard rather than share our resources, we become critical, we look to the good old days as our savior, and we totally forget the God who has been with us since before time began. Not your typical stewardship sermon, is it? God is enough. Nothing about giving or doing or being better at it all, but leaning back in the glorious goodness of God and trusting God will provide. That is so hard, nigh impossible. Yet that is our first step on this journey of faith trusting God is enough. When we accept deep within ourselves that God is enough, joy and generosity begin to bubble up. We rejoice in all that we have, because we know it was never ours to begin with. We want to reach out in love to others. That s who God is; that is who we are to be. The Exodus saga, of which this is only a part, was never meant to be about a people journeying to a specific place to call home. It is the story of a people who are looking for God. That was their journey. God s love and resources were all around them if they but noticed them. But their greatest example of God s presence was in the people. Yes, their leaders were

5 5 part of that, but the greatest treasure was in the people who shared the journey with them. Each one who walked along the road had a story to tell, had talents and resources to share, had a heart to offer as they journeyed along an unknown path. Look around you. Notice the people here. Each one is God s precious gift. You are enough, because God is enough. It s your choice. What does it mean to you to be church, to be a community of faith? If it s about survival, about preserving what is here, about ourselves, then we might need to look more closely at what church is all about. Church is not about the number of people who fill the pews that is always a bonus. Church is not about how big the budget or our portfolio is those are gifts from God to nurture others. Church is relationship relationship with God, relationship with one another. That is not something we carefully save that is a gift to share with the world. This past week a giant in church music died. No, his was not a name you would necessarily know. But a long time ago when I was at Baylor I learned a most valuable lesson from him what it means to be church. One of his songs was born in the love of the church we both called home for a season. It was about the love we found there, a love that reveled in the joy that God is enough. And when God is enough, well, here is what Kurt wrote: It only takes a spark to get a fire going And soon all those around can warm up in its glowing That s how it is with God s love once you ve experienced it You spread God s love to everyone; you want to pass it on. I ll shout it from the mountaintops; I want the world to know The Lord of love has come to me; I want to pass it on. 2 Rev. Melodie Long First Presbyterian Church Oshkosh, Wisconsin November 18, Kurt Kaiser. Pass It On Bud John Songs. Administered by EMI Christian Music Publishing.

How often have we heard these words from a toddler or a teenager, from an angry coworker or a jilted friend? It s just not fair.

How often have we heard these words from a toddler or a teenager, from an angry coworker or a jilted friend? It s just not fair. 2017.9.24 Exodus 16:2-15 2 The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 The Israelites said to them, If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the