Exodus 16:2-15
2The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” 4Then the Lordsaid to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. 5On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days.” 6So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaining against the Lord. For what are we, that you complain against us?” 8And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning, because the Lord has heard the complaining that you utter against him—what are we? Your complaining is not against us but” against the Lord. 9Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, ‘Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.’“ 10And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. 11The Lord spoke to Moses and said, 12“I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’“
13In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. 15When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.
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One of the
few advantages of Amy being out of town is that I get to watch movies that she
has no interest at all in watching.
Which means that it is Marvel Marathon time at the Myers house. One of the movies I’ve gotten to watch is
Captain America ,
The First Avenger. Now, the Captain has
been reinvented quite a few times since his creation in the 1950s, but part of
the story is always the same. He starts
off as a skinny guy with health issues, of which nothing is really
expected. At one point Colonel Philips
says to the doctor who will turn Steven Rogers into Captain America , “When
you brought a ninety-pound asthmatic onto my army base, I let it slide. I
thought "What the hell, maybe he'd be useful to you like a gerbil."
Never thought you'd pick him.” Nothing
at all is expected of Steve, and yet he goes on to save hundreds of lives, beat
all the bad guys, and be the best soldier of all time.
And as we
are out her in this field, and we can see the wonders of Gods creation, the
trees and the blooming flowers, we sit back and we think to ourselves at times
“How is this all possible?” And one of
the reasons that it is possible is the bee.
Yes, it is small, and yes we don’t particularly like them, especially
those who are allergic, but we still need them because they create beauty and
help to create our food. For flowers and
fruits to thrive, they need to get pollinated.
And who does this? The simple
little bee, so often overlooked or feared.
The
Israelites in our reading from today have some of the same concerns. They don’t have a very high opinion of God in
our reading, saying that they would be better off dying in Egypt where
they at least had food, instead of being led by God all through out the desert
to starve. Now, God may not be the
skinny weakling that Steve Rogers was.
Afterall, God had just wiped out the Pharaoh’s army and done a whole
bunch of plagues on Egypt . And yet, They don’t see God as much, and they
start complaining about food, which God gives them, in the form of manna, which
literally means “What is it?” That is
the reaction that the Israelite’s have, “What is it?” Once again, seeing something small and
thinking “could this possibly be what was sent to us? This is the best that it gets?” It was this flaky substance that was left
behind from the dew. Not really bread as
we think of it, in loaves or roll shaped, but just flakes on the ground. I can just imagine them standing there, going
“What is this? Is this all that we
get? Just some flakes on the ground to
eat? Every Day? Can’t God do better than this?” And yet, with these flakes God fed a nation
for years as they went through the desert.
Out of little and the seemingly insignificant, God does amazing things.
I’m sure
that there are people who think the same of our congregation, or would if they
knew anything about it. What is
Jerusalem, but a small congregation on the wrong side of the tracks, away from
everything going on, in Columbiana, a place that is not all that well known and
is just barely past the population of a city.
People can easily treat us as the Israelite’s did Manna and the Colonel
treated Rogers
– “What is this? Is this all that was
sent?” And yet, we have the capacity to
do wonderful things. What are we? We are a group that gives over a hundred
quilts to the needy a year! What are
we? We are a people who pray for others,
all around the world. What are we? We are a community that feeds the hungry, as
we have our food drive for the way station.
Who are we? We are the children
of God Himself, with whom God is present and who are so loved that He sent His
Son to die for us and to be our bread, our nourishment, our Manna.
Just as the
Israelites were fed each and every day on their pilgrimage, so are we as we
wander in our pilgrimage in life. We are
fed with God, who each day renews us through our Baptisms and who is present in
our bread and wine, filling us with the bread that nourishes our very beings. We may be small now, but we are beloved and
we are filled with the Spirit, and we are capable of marvelous things. Each and everyone of us is called, each and
every one of us has a purpose in our lives that is given to us by God Himself
and the skill and the gifts that are needed to do them.
So live a
live that is worthy of your calling. Let
the world see the power that is within you, the hero that each of you is
capable of being. Whether it be though
teaching, or building, or crafts, or being an awesome parent, may your calling
be visible to the world, let the let of Christ shine within you. In this way, instead of people asking “What
is that?” in reference to us, let them ask “What is this, and where can I get
some? How can I be a part of this and
have this in my life?” May we all be
living examples of the Good News of God, proclaiming His mercy and love to all
people.
Amen.
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