From the Pastor |
Have you ever wondered…? Where is God? If God is with us why would he allow such terrible things to happen? … Is God really with us?
From the time that the people of Israel marched out of Egypt… a strange pattern began to unfold. A 3 step pattern that we see over and over again: 1. The Israelites face some threat or crisis Ex: Egypt’s army pursues them… water is bitter and undrinkable… they are unable to locate food in the desert… 2. The people become distressed and afraid. They complain to Moses and accuse him of simply leading them to their deaths. 3. God hears their complaints and provides a solution: Safe passage through the sea… God tells Moses how to ‘fix’ the water… meat and bread is provided daily. Today’s reading is another example of this pattern. This large mass of people, livestock and belongings is slowly moving across the desert, and we find them setting up camp in Rephadim. Unfortunately there seems to be no water in the area. The people need water to survive but they cannot find any. So they go to Moses and DEMAND that he give them water. “Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?”” In other words “What do you expect me to do? You are talking to the wrong guy… and by the way… haven’t you seen enough evidence to trust God yet? But the people are thirsty… this is a dire situation and they are so agitated that Moses actually fears for his own life. He cries out to God “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.” So, the Lord tells Moses to take some of the elders as witnesses… and go to a specific place… and using his staff, he is to strike a specific rock. It sounds strange, but by now Moses is used to strange requests coming from God… so he does as he is told and sure enough… water pours forth from the rock. The Lord has once again provided what the people need. Now… for those of us looking back at this story… thousands of years in the future… it seems pretty strange that this same pattern is repeated time and time again. I have to wonder… What don’t these people get? How come it seems they never learn? Well…let’s think about that for a moment. These are God’s Chosen People… they share a common ancestry and heritage. They have undoubtedly heard the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob… they have heard about Joseph and how they came to be in Egypt… however, slavery in Egypt was all they knew. These people were born as slaves in Egypt. It is very likely that they knew more about the Egyptian gods than they knew about their own. After all, Moses was told to inform the Israelites that the one who sent him was NOT “Your God!” but rather “The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”… You see… They DID NOT really know God. God revealed himself to Moses… Moses in turn came to Egypt and announced that the God of their ancestors has heard their cry and sent Moses to lead them to freedom. Signs of great power were displayed… freedom was achieved… And the people of Israel left everything they knew… all that was oppressive YET familiar and followed a man they barely knew into the wilderness… all on the promise that they would be led to the land promised generations ago to their ancestors… a land they had never seen. They were skeptical. After all… the gods were known to be fickle so whenever threats or hardships arose… as their fears set in…They had to be wondering… How long? How long would this great and powerful God stay with them? It’s easy to look back and criticize the Ancient Israelites for their lack of faith and trust… But truthfully… we have a great advantage over them… we have the benefit of the hind-sight that comes from studying their history and stories… And we are able to KNOW God in ways they could not have fathomed. After all … it was about 2000 years ago that God truly revealed himself to us in a way we could understand and relate to… coming into our world in the man we call Jesus… “the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory… full of grace and truth.” [John 1:14] “and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, “God is with us.” [Matthew 1:23] Perhaps some of the frustration we feel for Ancient Israel is that it has been thousands of years and yet things have not changed very much. “Is the Lord with us or not?” is still a very common question today. In his book The Great Mysteries, Father Andrew Greeley puts it like this: “Life is filled with so many senseless events. Mindless tragedies fill our newspapers every day--airplane crashes, the murder of innocent children, insane terrorism, natural disasters. And much in our own lives seems without purpose or meaning--… a handicapped child, the early death of a parent or spouse, a broken marriage, a car that won't start in the morning, a wrong number in the middle of the night, the treason of friends and envy of neighbors. We are often left to wonder why such things happen. Is there any point and purpose behind them? … Is the Lord with us or not?” As I was preparing this week, it occurred to me that we are currently in a similar situation… our nation is in turmoil… wandering in the dark wilderness… between the current coronavirus pandemic… the protests and riots over racial injustice… the current political scene… Fear and anger reign, and we hear little mention of God. People are looking to science and politics to solve our crises, and because human efforts do not seem to be solving the situation quickly enough, people are grumbling about and quarreling with our leaders, on both sides of the aisle, in both science and politics. “Why did Trump do this? Why didn’t the Democrats do that?” Even Christians have joined in this chorus of negativity… arguing and blaming others AND even one another… instead of calling out to God… instead of putting their trust and faith in God. Like the Israelites, we don't want to stop long enough to consider all that God has done in the past. We fail to notice the evidence that surrounds us of God's current, and very active presence. So… in fear… we cry out “Is God with us or not?” We need to realize and trust in the fact that God never leaves us alone… nor does God attempt to solve all our problems for us… what God does is join us in the darkness. We need to have faith. You see… Faith does not shut its eyes in fear, but watches for the miracles of grace that bring light and hope into the darkness. And it is in the darkness that we can truly find God's glorious light… evidence of God’s presence that leads to a deeper joy and peace. It is where we see glimpses of pure grace that shine in the darkness. Christ came to reveal God to us… revealing God’s love, mercy, compassion and grace… assuring us that we are not alone. When we hold onto our faith, and put our trust in God… we will know and recognize God’s presence with us… Through Christ, God’s love is poured out into the hearts of those who believe, and produces a hope that can lift us up and guide us even in the darkest of times… Because of this… the presence of God should be evident in us as well. When someone feeds those who are hungry… gives water to the thirsty… wears a mask to protect others around them… when someone offers a loving hand to another in need. When members of a community work together to provide for those who are vulnerable and alone… God’s presence is made known. When we love… when we are not only the recipients and also the vehicles of grace… when we reach out a helping hand to anyone who is in need… when we put aside our political differences and work together to secure health, justice and compassion for all our citizens… God’s presence is made known… Is the Lord with us or not? The answer is, of course, a resounding yes. Each and every day… God is with us… we are not alone. As we wander through the wilderness of these dark times… if we will keep our eyes open and not shut them in fear and dread… then we will see wondrous the signs of God in our midst. And then may we pray that the world see God’s presence through us as well. Amen.
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Do You Follow the Instructions?
If you’ve ever ordered anything online, you might have seen the “additional instructions” box that is usually there at the checkout. This enables customers to provide any necessary instructions for the delivery person. You know… please place item on porch… behind the column… whatever. I’ve often wondered if the delivery personnel actually pays any attention to those instructions… Well… Back in June, an Amazon delivery driver became a viral sensation when a family’s doorbell camera footage revealed her following some rather strange instructions. During the time of lockdown and subsequent boredom for many kids… one young man decided to have some fun. Unbeknownst to the mother, her youngest son had gone on her computer and, under a box titled 'Do we need any additional instructions to find this address?', he had written: “No but knock on the door 3 times and scream ‘abracadabra’ as loud as you can and run super fast away.” Well… this woman not only read the ‘special’ instructions… but she even went along with it. She brought a little joy to the family… and to millions who later watched online… when they saw the video of her knocking 3 times… yelling ‘abracadabra’ and then running back to her truck. This was one Amazon driver who has proven she can follow instructions. How well do you follow instructions? Hmm… something to think about… But let’s get back to our exodus story. After being freed from slavery in Egypt, the People of Israel traveled a long way to the Mountain of God… what we refer to as Mt. Sinai. It was a long and slow journey and they found their supplies dwindled. Food became scarce and as the people grew hungry… Even after the plagues and the parting of the waters at the sea had demonstrated the awesome power of God… they began to grumble and complain. They blamed Moses again for bringing them out into the wilderness to die. They went so far as to say they would have been better off remaining slaves in Egypt… at least there they had something to eat. Well… once again… God heard their complaints and “The Lord said to Moses, “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’” Each morning, Manna – Bread from Heaven, would be available for the people. BUT this wonderful provision of food came with very specific instructions and the Lord wanted to see whether the people would be able to follow them or not. Each day, the people were to gather up just enough manna to see them through the day. It may seem like a simple instruction, but think about it… only gather what you need for that day… only enough to feed each person… Oh yeah… and do not save any or try to hoard it… To put this in perspective… That would be like having absolutely no food in the house and going to the store and ONLY buying exactly what you and your family would eat for that ONE day. Nothing extra… nothing left over… But this was God’s command. You see… Rather than storing the surplus, the Israelites were to be dependent on God and aware that God was the one that provided for them every day. The only day that was different was, of course, the 6th day… that day only they were to gather up enough for 2 days because on the 7th day they were to rest. When we look at the verses that follow today’s reading we find that the people were not very good at following the instructions. Unfortunately, it seems like these former slaves were not a very trusting bunch. Some gathered too much… some not enough… yet oddly enough… they all had enough. Many tried to save some of the manna… to squirrel it away for another day, but it spoiled overnight. They struggled to follow these simple instructions. Yet for 40 years, God continued to provide food for them in the wilderness… bread from heaven that sustained their lives until they were finally able to enter the Promised Land… While the manna was intended to demonstrate God’s provision for God’s people. Jesus came to demonstrate God’s desire to bring all people in… to allow us all to claim the title of God’s people. Not only that, but Jesus declared that HE is the Bread of Life… Unlike manna… the Bread of Heaven… Jesus… the Bread of Life… is the heavenly food that is imperishable and is eternally life-sustaining. He said “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you… The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world…“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” [John 6:27, 33, 35] To partake of this life giving bread is to believe… to have faith… As Jesus said, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.” [John 6:29] That is because faith is not some abstract idea… Faith is a positive commitment to follow and act with obedience. So I have to ask again… how well do we follow God’s commands? There is so much we can learn from the Book of Exodus about what God is like and what God requires… and all before we even get to the 10 commandments. Today, we can learn that we should only gather what we need… that we shouldn’t hoard our resources… that there is enough for all. Now, we do not have manna raining down from heaven that we must gather up each morning… but this world… this wonderful creation of God… provides enough food for every man, woman and child on the planet. God provides enough for all. Yet… When we look at the world through the lens of Exodus 16… we see that there are three kinds of people: Those who have enough; those who don’t have enough; and those who have more than enough. So many people in this world go hungry every day… so many in our nation… one of the richest in the world… are hungry… so many in our own community do not have enough food to eat. Why? Because of greed and selfishness… and the fear of what might happen tomorrow… we don’t want to be caught without enough for ourselves. But it is also because, like the people of Ancient Israel… we, as the people of God, seem unable to follow God’s instructions. We fail to trust that God will provide what we need and instead… we tend to collect far more than is necessary… we save the leftovers and throw away the excess. Manna was the bread God provided to sustain the lives of God’s people in the desert. Jesus is the Bread of NEW Life that God has provided to sustain eternal life… life that has us living in the unending presence of God. A life of Hope, peace, joy and love. However, like the manna… the bread of life comes with instructions that must be followed… And while faith alone is what saves… faith is the “work” God requires… If we have faith… we must then abide by God’s commands… commands that have us loving and caring for others no matter who they are… loving God, neighbor, one another and enemies. If we are going to claim the name… the People of God… We need to realize that happiness is not going to be found in the accumulation of more and more things… instead true happiness can be found in trusting in the goodness of God’s creation… Trusting in the goodness of God’s provision… In putting our whole and complete trust in a God who calls upon us to be faithful stewards of what we have been given… and who follow God’s commands to love and to share our resources so that everyone… everyone has enough. Amen. |
Yeon Shin
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