Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15
“Don’t Worry about Complaining”
We were very blessed to have a wonderful vacation in Kiawah Island, South Carolina the week before last.
My sister recently purchased a beach house there, and that is how we were able to go.
The beach at Kiawah is amazing.
My favorite thing to do at Kiawah was to get up somewhat early in the morning and make the two mile walk down the beach to the inlet where several families of dolphins, go fishing for a couple hours every day.
To say it is fascinating, a nearly miraculous sight is an understatement.
Anyhow, the first time we took the walk to the inlet, it was adults only: Clair, myself and some friends of ours who brought their teenage daughter.
The teenage daughter and Mary Ellen stayed at the house.
After over-hearing our conversations about how fantastic the experience was, both Mary Ellen and our friend’s daughter wanted to come along.
One thing about Mary Ellen is that she doesn’t like to walk long distances.
I don’t know whether she just gets bored or whether her side really does cramp up as bad as she says and the nearly deadly need for water is as dire as her cries would indicate.
In any event, Clair offered to stay at the house with Mary Ellen while the rest of us went to see the dolphins.
But I didn’t want Clair to miss out, and I thought it would be a great experience for Mary Ellen.
So the night before, I had Mary Ellen make a “pinky-promise” with me that if we allowed her to come with us, she would not complain about the long walk—no matter what!!!
And I told Mary Ellen that I was gonna hold her to that “pinky-promise.”
Well, the walk to go see the dolphins was a breeze and a blast.
Mary Ellen was filled with energy and so very excited.
After watching the dolphins, the rest of our crew headed back to the house while Mary Ellen and I spent some time picking up star-fish and throwing them back in the water.
Then, we started the two mile trek back to the house.
And fairly soon, poor little Mary Ellen started to complain.
And I said to her, “You made a ‘pinky promise’ with me if we allowed you to come this morning you would not complain about the long walk.”
Mary Ellen replied, “I know I did daddy, but I’m only 7 years old. I can’t not complain.”
A mile and a half later we made it back to the beach house, I with Mary Ellen riding on my shoulders.
We aren’t always at our best when we complain.
Sometimes we can act irrational.
We might get cranky or even say things we don’t mean.
Adults can act like children sometimes when we aren’t getting our way.
And maybe that is a bit of the kind of image which comes to mind as we read about the Israelites complaining to Moses and Aaron in the desert.
They had been free from Egyptian bondage and slavery for 6 weeks.
They were obviously hungry, thirsty, and probably even worried about a number of other dangers lurking in the wild.
They were in a tough spot.
There can be no doubt about it.
And as a result, they became convinced that life had been better back in Egypt where they had enough food.
“Oh, how we wish that the Lord had just put us to death while we were still in the land of Egypt.
There we could sit by the pots cooking meat and eat our fill of bread.”
The people had become convinced that their past was better than their present.
And when times get tough, it sure is easy to romanticize the past.
When we aren’t enjoying our present situation, the past can easily become the “golden age” to which nothing else can compare.
Not long after graduating from high school I was having a conversation with a friend who was having a bit of a tough time of it.
He said to me, “If I had known that high school was going to be the best years of my life I would have enjoyed them more.”
If I remember right, this same friend was miserable in high school and couldn’t wait to get out from under the yoke of slavery to teachers, homework, parents, etc.
It’s about all he had talked about.
When the Israelites made their complaints, their memories were working in a very “selective way.”
The only thing they could remember was the food; they had forgotten about the brutal conditions of their slavery.
And when we, as the Church, grumble about our present condition being far worse than our past, we’re kind of doing a similar thing, are we not?
It’s easy to look back and remember a day when the sanctuary was packed and the offering plates overflowed, and yet, even if that part is accurate…
…we can be assured there were many other problems that may not exist now that existed then.
It’s so tempting to let the past serve as the “golden age.”
Yet when we do this, we tend to be denying the fact that God is creating a bright future that leads us to the Promised Land.
When we idealize the past, we are in danger of falling into the trap of not trusting in God’s future goodness.
It can be easy to deny or be blinded to the fact that God has good plans in store for us, and that God is offering us God’s love and redemption right here and now!!!
It so wonderful, the picture of God, that we get in this passage from Exodus.
Because how does God respond to the grumbling of the community?
Does God get angry at them and threaten walk away and leave them to starve in the wilderness?
No.
God responds to their grumbling with compassion.
And this is a good lesson for all of us to remember.
As we go through pain in life…
…whether it be a time of illness…
…a time of personal loss…
…whatever it is…
…God is aware of our pain; God is listening to our cries, and God is offering us comfort and hope!!!
It’s interesting that even though the Israelites are complaining and angry, they never really lose their faith in God.
“Oh, how we wish that the Lord had just put us to death while we were still in the land of Egypt,” they moan.
They are still acknowledging that God is in charge.
They are still acknowledging that life and death belong to the Lord.
The problem is that they, like we… at least me…
…still have a “somewhat” limited knowledge of the love of God, and that God wants to offer them personal and daily provisions for their needs.
We all need to grow in our understanding of the love of God.
And you know what, as hard as it is to admit, we grow the most in our understanding of God’s steadfast love, faithfulness, and presence when we are dealing with difficulties and then cry out and offer God our honest complaints and pleas.
It’s when we are in the pit, it’s when we hit “rock bottom” that we are able to come to the miraculous conclusion that even at “rock bottom” there is a hope and a future—because Jesus is right there with us!!!
Beginning in verse 10 we are told that “As Aaron spoke to the whole Israelite community, they turned to look toward the desert, and just then the glorious presence of the Lord appeared in the cloud.”
And, “The Lord spoke to Moses, ‘I’ve heard the complaints of the Israelites.
Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat.
And in the morning you will have your fill of bread.
Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”
The word used for “know” means to witness or to experience the active salvation and the divine Presence of God.
We come into relationship with God, we come to know God when we experience God’s compassion, God’s love and God’s presence during times of trouble, and when we are feeling that we are all alone, isolated and at the end of our rope.
God doesn’t become furious with the Israelites for their complaints…
…God wants us to be open and honest with God.
We are to bring all things to God in prayer.
And God responds to the Israelites, as God responds to us today by far exceeding any expectations we may have had.
For the ultimate gift and provision of God for you and for me is that the Father has sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world as the “true Manna,” the “true Bread of Life.”
The Israelites ate manna in the desert, but they eventually died.
Jesus not only provides the comfort we need to walk in faithfulness while we are journeying on this earth, and He is the Gift that ensures we will live eternally with God.
God’s goodness never ends.
God the Father and God the Son send us the Holy Spirit, to provide us with the ability to believe and the conviction to share the gift of faith with others through our words and actions.
The Holy Spirit informs us, nourishes us and sustains us with the Bread of Life, and sends us into the world with the knowledge that we are loved, we are not alone, that God is alive and we can trust in His great mercy, compassion and love.
Thanks be to God!!!
Amen.
