Sermon
delivered at All Saints’ Church, Farley, Wiltshire on Sunday 22nd April
Exodus 16:4-15; Revelation 2:12-17
Alleluia,
Christ is Risen! May my words come from God and may they bless all who hear
them today. Amen
How many of us catch our selves saying “they were the
good old days” or words to that effect when we look upon our present day life
and the lives of those around us – yearning for how things used to be. I hear it a lot and sometimes catch myself
saying it – whether it is about the current political state of the world or the
current size and price of a Mars Bar! We
are so good, especially us English, at complaining. Now don’t get me wrong, there are times when
it is right and proper to complain and to try and maintain those standards with
which we were brought up but as is explained and illustrated in the Archbishop
of Canterbury’s latest book – “Re-Imaging
Britain – Foundations for Hope” we need to build a contemporary narrative
of who we are; rooted in our traditions, values and history but resolutely
forward thinking.
In our passage from Exodus in our first reading we join
the children of Israel just six week’s into their long 40 years wilderness
journey. The ten plagues, the first
Passover, the deliverance out of Egyptian slavery and the miracle of the
parting of the Red Sea are all behind them.
They have already come a long way out of their bondage at the hands of
the Pharaohs and on their way to establishing their own nation in Caanan.
Yet, here in the wilderness new fears and doubts arise and the
people begin to grumble at their spiritual leaders who have brought them this
far. In doing so, they are also
grumbling and doubting their own God too.
Our passage of scripture started at Exodus 16:4 but to
understand it more fully it is necessary, I think, the read the preceding two
verses of Chapter 16 which come immediately before our passage:
“The whole
congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the
wilderness. The 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
the wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger”
My immediate thought, when hearing these words was “You
ungrateful so and sos”. God sent plagues from which you were immune to help
your release, parted the Red Sea and drowned Pharaoh’s chasing forces and led
you to safety away from an oppressive regime. Now you wish you had stayed
behind to be further oppressed.
How easy it can be to look back on lives past through rose
coloured spectacles. Were those good old times really as good as we
thought. God’s world is forever changing
and we must allow ourselves to embrace that changing world yet at the same time
ensuring that we do not compromise our faith.
Unfortunately this was exactly what these Israelites were doing. Despite all they had been through, all they
had witnessed, all the miracles they had seen and been part of, they were
complaining not to God but through Moses and Aaron about God. They were
doubting the wisdom and faith which had so far led them to this place.
We read in our passage how Moses was told by God that he would
“rain bread” from heaven each day but to test the people’s obedience, he laid
down certain conditions – that is God would provide just enough manna (heavenly
bread) for their requirements on a daily basis but to ensure that they observed
the Sabbath he would, on the sixth day of the week provide double to quantity
to last for the remaining two days.
The people also craved meat and so every evening quails arrived
and so by the giving of the manna and the quails God once more showed himself
by these miracles. Unfortunately we read
further on that some of the people didn’t collect all the manna on the sixth
day but left some of it to collect the following the day. This, they discovered on the seventh day had
gone mouldy – another example of God showing the results of disobedience.
The story teaches us two things – first of all, God will deliver us at times of oppression and
even doubt. Remember the story of
doubting Thomas. Jesus showed himself by
coming a second time to the room when Thomas was present and giving him a
second chance to believe. “How much more blessed are those that believe
without having seen” Jesus tells him.
However, deliverance follows the second of these two things - redemption and a willingness to turn
back to God – just as the Prodigal Son was delivered back into his family once
he had turned his back (repented of) on his in dependent life. God does not
turn his back on us, however much we whinge provided always we acknowledge him
through Jesus to be our saviour and we truly believe this. He is our Father who
only wants good things of us.
I said earlier that my original thought was what an ungrateful
bunch these Israelites were. In thinking
this I am not thinking as God thinks, not as Jesus thinks. We live in a modern society where people seem
to be stuck with the notion that we need affirmation, feel needed, thanked and
wanted by our fellow humans and if we do something and we are not repaid or
rewarded we feel resentful and angry. We complain to others. We don’t get that
promotion we feel we should have, we don’t get that thank you card, we don’t
get that pay rise. We resent those
against those whom we think we should have received these. Even the Prodigal Son felt that he did not
deserve his Father’s restoration and expected his father to simply give him a
servant’s job with the words “I told you
so”. By contrast the fattened calf
was killed, a robe and a ring presented to him.
No recriminations.
Likewise in our passage God gives his people what they want to
show what a gracious and compassionate God he is.
God had heard the cries of his people in bondage and released
them. He heard their complaints and whinging but instead of punishing them for
their unfaithfulness and insolence he sets a table before them complete with
the necessities of life.
In fact, I believe that
God already knows what lies ahead of us – the choices we can make before we
ourselves do but God will also test us – just as he tested those in the
wilderness.
We have to have both faith and obedience. Obedience alone will not suffice. Despite
there being some who were disobedient – taking more than they needed and
hunting for food despite God’s provision, he never went back on his word and
was with them throughout the 40 years of wilderness wanderings leading them
safely to the Holy Land. Faith carried
them through.
We would do well to remember at all times God’s immense
compassion and grace. If we are to be
Christ like, and therefore God like. We need to think differently. We need to think as God does, compassionate to
those against whom we hold a grievance.
Jesus said on his Sermon on the Mount:
“But I say
to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may
be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and
on the good and sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous. For if you love only those who love you what
reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you
greet only your brothers and sisters what more are you doing than others…Be perfect,
therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43-48)
Justin Welby, in his book, talks about compassion and grace
which, in his view, is how we can
re-imagine our country. He talks about
the Blitz Spirit – how when in great adversity we pull together. How the early
Christians pulled together and were witness to God’s great compassion and
grace.
How can we, individually, be more God like? The answer, I believe, is by following
Jesus’s example, recognising that all people on Earth are God’s creatures, good
or evil, and extending Christian love, compassion and understanding to all
inside and outside of our Church community.
Amen
MFB/18042018/115
No comments:
Post a Comment