"God's Provisions" - Sermon, October 1, 2017
Community UMC,
Quincy
“God’s Provisions”
Pastor Andrew
Davis
October 1, 2017
Exodus 17: 1-7
Some weeks, you think that you have
a good sermon based on the text of
the week, yet after chewing on the text and when it comes time to sit down and
write, nothing happens. I have to be
honest that it’s been that kind of a week for me, one of those where I really
need to rely on the Holy Spirit more than ever.
Then again, it might be God’s way of saying that my sermons of late have
been too long, so today is more like a Communion meditation.
However, it seems appropriate on this World
Communion Sunday, as we join in celebrating Holy Communion with churches around
the world that we talk about the ways in which God provides for us. Just looking at our altar display this
morning, we see breads represented from around the world, in which you will be
welcome to take some home after worship during coffee hour. Like the many grains of wheat, rice, or corn
that came together to make one loaf, tortilla, or cake, we too are gathered
together as one, as the gathered body of Christ. And what better way is there to come together
than around food? When we think about
it, God provides for us this wonderful earth, entrusting us to work with the
earth and to take care of the earth.
From the earth comes much of our food, reminding me of this silly little
song we used to sing in elementary school called “Dirt Made My Lunch.” The
grains that came together out of the earth to make the bread we see and a lot
of what we eat and drink are all a part of God’s provisions for us, as this is
one way to see how God provides for us.
Last week in our reading from
Exodus, we came across Israel being led through the desert by Moses and Aaron
after crossing through the bottom of the Red Sea; then in their hunger, the Israelites were provided manna and quail
by God to sustain them through the long, sometimes unbearable desert
journey. In this morning’s lesson,
Israel has now made it to Rephidim and once again grumbles to Moses that they
are now thirsty, leaving poor Moses to the point of exasperation with all their
complaining. You would think that Israel
would have learned to trust God after Moses threw a piece of wood into bitter
water to make it drinkable in Marrah, then after God provided manna and
quail. However, Israel once again looks
backwards, towards Egypt, accusing Moses of taking them out of Egypt to die in
the desert from hunger and thirst. Yet,
even after all that God has provided for Israel the last couple times they complained,
they still have a hard time trusting in the power that God has to provide for
them in their basic essentials of food and water. The Israelites are testing Moses, but also
testing God. And there are going to be
times in our life and on our journey of faith that will make us wonder what is
happening, asking, why, God? Why? As Rev. Dr. Dawn Chesser explains, “sometimes
it feels like no matter how much faith we have, no matter how many promises we
have heard, and no matter how many signs God has provided, still, most of us
from time to time wonder if God has abandoned us. In other words, we have
difficulty trusting.”[i] And that’s exactly what is happening on this
journey through the desert, as Israel is learning to trust the hard way and
while struggling. On the other hand, there will also be times when all we can
do is trust God.
However, it’s not like God doesn’t hear Israel’s complaints,
nor has God abandoned the people amidst their complaining, as God sends Moses
ahead of the people to do something about their predicament. This also means
facing the people's anger and frustration as well, considering that the
Israelites are about ready to stone Moses.
Of course, when we do get hungry, or excessively thirsty, we do get a
little cranky or frustrated, especially the longer it goes on. I know when I don’t practice good self-care
and drink my water, I get a headache which in turn leads me to be more
irritable and impatient than usual. So,
the Israelites’ response is normal.
Nonethless,Moses goes to the
place that God instructs him to go in Horeb and strikes the rock with his
staff, the same staff that he used to part the Red Sea; as he strikes the rock,
water starts flowing out of the rock for Israel to drink. When God provided the manna and quail in the
desert, there was a catch, that the people could only take just enough of what
God provided. Yet God once again provides, this time the life-giving water for
the Israelites to drink, another means of trying to show the people to trust
God. As scholar Anathea Portier-Young at
Duke Divinity School explains, “the provision of
water from the rock follows from the assurance that God is indeed present with
this people…God continues to ensure that this people will have what they need to
live.”[ii] And when we do trust God, God
can do the same for us, although it may look different than manna and quail or
water from a rock.
Although I
have only been back in CA for a little over a year now, we have definitely felt
what it is like to have a lack of water here.
The severe drought that hit us hard for a few years has sometimes made
it feel like being in the
midst of the journey through the desert, even though we have still been able to
find water to drink, bathe, wash dishes, or do laundry. However for the landscape around us, we see
reminders everywhere of dead or dying trees, or a couple years ago, saw many of
our lakes nearly empty, as well as dead lawns.
Yet amidst the drought, God seems to have heard our prayers this last
year, as we got rain and A LOT of rain at that, along with record snowfall up
on the higher elevations. We were
praying for rain each Sunday at this time last year, although I think we may
have gotten to where we were ready to pray for less rain after all the flooding
that was happening in January and February.
Nevertheless, God provided.
However, there are times we find ourselves in our own deserts and
sometimes in moments where we aren’t sure if God is still listening, although
God shows up and provides. Although with all that rain and snow, it’s been
great for boating and fishing this summer!!
We also saw
God provide for us in a big way just a couple months ago. Those first couple weeks of August was a time where we really
had to dig in our heels and trust God when we looked up towards Claremont Ridge
and Boyle Ravine behind us and saw the smoke and flames of the Minerva Fire
rising up into the sky. I admit, with
the high level of anxiety that many of us felt, myself included, in that
moment, it may have felt easier said than done to trust God. However, just as God provided manna and
quail, and water from the rock, God provided the fire crews and the
support. Our county supervisor Lori
Simpson and Sheriff Greg Hagwood’s office provided us constant updates, just as
the Forest Service provided regular details, something I equate with some of
many ways in which God provides. And
just like the support that we received in our time of anxiety and distress, God
is providing for the people of Texas and Florida through our United Methodist
Committee on Relief, who will be working there for many days to come and is
also becoming involved in Puerto Rico and Mexico as we speak. The health and cleaning kits many of us have
made, or have donated money towards are another way God provides through
us. And anytime we have people in our
church who are sick or injured, in the midst of loss and grief, we have the
opportunity to be an extension of the ways that God provides when we are there
for them, whether it is bringing meals, or just providing a means of comfort
and moral support.
I could go on about the many,
many, many other ways that God provides, which will look different for each of
us. However, it takes trusting God, even
in the times when we may feel as if we we are deep in the desert without food
and water like Israel was, or when it feels like God is silent. As we come to the Communion table in a few
minutes, I invite you think about the many ways in which God has provides for
you. And, I invite you think about how
we can also be a means of God providing for others when we serve out in our
community and greater world together.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, let the
church say, AMEN!
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