SCRIPTURE: Exodus 16:2-15
TEXT: 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.’“ THEME: When we begin to complain to someone we trust, our relationship begins to deepen. INTRODUCTION When a premarital couple comes to me, I ask them, “How have your fights been?” and if they say to me, “Oh no Pastor, we never fight.” Then a red flag goes up and I say, “Then at least one of you doesn’t feel safe in this relationship because they are afraid to say what they really think.” Relationships are about getting to know about each other, good and bad, and being willing to work through the difficulties. The other red flag is when a couple says all they do is fight and I end up being the referee at the premarital session. SCRIPTURE The people of God have had an adventurous relationship with God so far. They have been on the run and now the food they have brought with them has run out. From their camp site in the wilderness they have nothing but time to think about their hunger and complain to their leaders and object of their misery, Moses and Aaron. When we hear their complaint, listen for the feelings being expressed. They are afraid. They are fearful for their lives. They are so hungry they are grumpy and irritable. They have doubts about what they are doing and where they are going. They feel desperate enough or comfortable enough to voice their complaint to God. They are willing to be their true selves, to speak up and reveal how they feel. They are getting to know God and are dropping certain pretenses. Then God says to Moses. I don’t know why God can’t send a text message to everyone but speaks only to Moses, “There will be Bread from God, follow these instructions because it included a way for you to rest one day of the week. Don’t be greedy, trust that there is enough for you each day.” If their ancestral lineage, family stories, grouping by familial tribes, and their common Parent/Uncle Joseph’s historic bringing of the family to Egypt wasn’t enough to know about God, this daily meal will give them taste of God for themselves. God listened to their complain, heard their feeling and is their Provider. But not only that. Wait there is more. In the evening you shall eat meat. As quails wander into the camp. Together with the flaky white bread stuff and quail, they have the ingredients to make Chicken Manapua, Chicken Flautas, Chicken enchiladas and Chicken sandwiches. APPLICATION Tired, busy, stressed, hungry, doubt filled, anxious and scared, we admit our need for rest, our spirit needs time and our hunger satisfied. When our eyes are opened to what we receive from God, we can begin to live our lives with gratitude and trust. How can Our relationship with God create a life changing economic? This story is of the people of God beginning to form their relationship with God. They complain against Moses, which means that they are complaining against the Lord, and the Lord hears and answers. Remember, God saw, knew and heard them in Egypt as slaves and now hears their complaining to Moses. This is progress in their forming of their relationship with God. This is a like a couple who are being honest with each other and finding that they can entrust their differences with each other. In a covenant of love, they can hear each other and finds constructive ways to resolve the differences. God will provide for them in the desert in a miraculous way and they will recognize that it is God who feeds them. Daily Mana will be a regular reminder of God’s love, protection, deliverance and provision. As a community, they are developing a corporate, communal memory of their experience with God and who God is. Having God in our lives, brings a whole economy of stewardship to live. Eric Law’s “Holy Currency” identifies 6 areas of stewardship: 1. Leadership, 2. Truth, 3. Relationships, 4. Wellness, 5. Money and 6. Place and Time. These are the 6 areas where we are to practice stewardship, or dominion, or as theologian Ellen Davis translates it, “skilled mastery”, the artfulness of being human. They need to have “skilled mastery” of their leadership given by Moses, they must apply “skilled mastery” for the truth that they are learning, discovering and hold about God who loves them and preserves their life. They must have “skilled mastery” practiced in their relationships with family, people and with God. They must be artful in maintaining their wellness traveling and camping with Shade and Warmth, Mana and Quail. They need to practice “skilled mastery” with the extra portion on the sixth day so they can have sabbath rest, and rhythm to their lives. In the wilderness, God provides for them in all of these ways which will be represented by money in another setting. Their value is not in the wealth they possess but in being loved and loving God and others. This economy flows, as it is shared with each other and is used, reuses as currency. The community of the people of God is being formed, through an interdependence of relationships with God and each other, that flows in the current of life and does not hoard. Getting to know God, means getting to know a different way of being and living in flowing ways. What our church does, is being formed by an interdependence through relationships with God and that participates in ‘skilled mastery’ of God’s gifts. Those ladies at our Food Pantry, minister to feed those who need a little more to eat, with loving spirits, nonjudgmental, generous and accepting. Our Rummage Sale has become a thrift store of sorts, that gave out donated camping gear and car seats, now school supplies and backpacks, and we are weeding out toys to give away for Christmas. The “skilled mastery” of the Mission Ground for housing, is using this property in the current of God’s flow, instead of having it sit idle. Our interdependence upon God and each other with “skilled mastery’ creates new relationships with our neighbors, our community and our County. CONCLUSION If I were to ask the People of God how their relationship with God was going. They may say that there is whining and complaining but they are working things out as they get to know each other. This passage is not so much about the Mana reinforcing whining behavior, as it is about the people of God learning to be honest with God and to be comfortable enough to share their true self by complaining. God hears their complaint and understands how they feel and shows them God’s true self, with Mana and quail. They are getting to know each other, getting to know all about you. I hear the lyrics of the song “Getting to Know You” from The King and I playing in my head. “All the beautiful and new things I am learning about you day by day.” Relationships are influential. We copy the behaviors, accents, mannerisms of those around us. When God is among us, we copy God’s mannerisms, becoming the people of God, becoming formed, shaped and influenced by our relationship with God. “Getting to like you, hoping that you like me”, “Suddenly I’m Bright and breezy”. Complaining maybe a first way that we begin to open ourselves up to God, but it is not the only way to get to know God. The Israelites journey into the wilderness also represents their spiritual journey in getting to know God. Mana is a spiritual food of this relationship.
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