First Reading: Exodus 16:2-15
2The whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, 3and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” 4Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. 5On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” 6So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For what are we, that you grumble against us?” 8And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the Lord has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him — what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the Lord.”
9Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, ‘Come near before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’” 10And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. 11And the Lord said to Moses, 12“I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’” 13In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. 14And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. 15When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.”
Psalm 145:10-22
10All your works praise you, O Lord, and your faithful servants bless you. 11They make known the glory of your kingdom and speak of your power; 12That the peoples may know of your power and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. 13Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; your dominion endures throughout all ages. 14The Lord is faithful in all his words and merciful in all his deeds. 15The Lord upholds all those who fall; he lifts up those who are bowed down. 16The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord, and you give them their food in due season. 17You open wide your hand and satisfy the needs of every living creature. 18The Lord is righteous in all his ways and loving in all his works. 19The Lord is near to those who call upon him, to all who call upon him faithfully. 20He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he hears their cry and helps them. 21The Lord preserves all those who love him, but he destroys all the wicked. 22My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord; let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.
Second Reading: Ephesians 4:1-16
1I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call — 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” 9(In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Gospel: John 6:22-35
22On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. 25When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” 28Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” 30So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” 35Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”
How Quickly We Forget
As I begin this morning, I’d like to reread verses 14-21 of our Psalm reading. I encourage you to listen carefully because I believe it really captures what our outlook and attitude should be considering our First Reading assigned for today. “The Lord is faithful in all his words and merciful in all his deeds. The Lord upholds all those who fall; he lifts up those who are bowed down. The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord, and you give them their food in due season. You open wide your hand and satisfy the needs of every living creature. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and loving in all his works. The Lord is near to those who call upon him, to all who call upon him faithfully. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he hears their cry and helps them. The Lord preserves all those who love him, but he destroys all the wicked.”
I think it would be good if each of us would reread these verses the next time we feel compelled to complain, to grumble about something gone wrong, or when things seem difficult. As sinful creatures curved in on ourselves, we feel we have the right to gripe when things aren’t going our way. But the truth is, we’re no different from the newly freed Israelite slaves who God, though Moses, led out into the wilderness. We too have a tendency, in the face of turbulent times, to quickly forget all God has done for us, and is doing in our lives. As I was studying and preparing for today, I was reminded of the time I spent in an apartment away from Terry and the girls during my internship.
As I said, I was living in a small, two-bedroom, apartment that was, by the way, fully paid for by my internship church. The apartment was on the second floor and the laundry machines were in the basement. So, each week I would have to go down the stairs, walk outside to the basement entrance and down another flight of stairs to where the washing machines were. It’s important to note that the machines were free for the residents to use. Well, after the first month, I began to gripe about all the effort of having to go through all that hassle just to wash my clothes.
Overhearing me complaining, one of the ladies in the church office shared the following with me: “The next time you complain of having to do the laundry – at home or at the local laundromat – where you have plenty of hot and cold water, a spin-dry washing machine, and a dryer to do the whole job remarkably easily, here’s a checklist from an old grandmother in Kentucky for washing clothes:
- Build a fire in the backyard to heat a kettle of rainwater.
- Set the tubs so that the smoke won’t blow in the eyes if the wind is pert.
- Shave one whole cake of homemade lye soap in the boiling water.
- Sort things and make three piles: one for white clothes, one for colored, and one for britches and rags.
- Rub the dirty spots on the washboard; scrub hard, then boil, rench, and starch.
- Take white things out of kettle with broomstick.
- Spread tea towels on the lawn to dry.
- Hang old rags on the fence.
- Pour rench water on the flower bed.
- Scrub porch and kitchen floor with the hot, soapy, wash-water.
- Turn tubs upside down to drain.
- Go and put on a clean dress, smooth hair back with side combs, brew a cup of tea, set and rest a spell, and finally, count your blessins’.
Yes, over the years, I’ve needed to wash some clothes in a sink and had to carry my clothes to the local laundry while I was on Temporary Duty overseas, but I’ve never had to wash clothes the old fashion way. It’s so easy for us to forget just how easy we have things: to forget about all the blessings we truly enjoy today. It really is amazing just how quickly we forget, and our Old Testament text for today is a good reminder for us.
Stop and consider that the people of God had been safely led from Egyptian bondage, across the Red Sea (on dry ground no less!), and they were now bound for the Promised Land, all the while being shielded by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. They had witnessed the 10 plagues in Egypt, including the final plague and the destruction of the first born of all the people and animals in Egypt, and of how the Israelite people who observed the first Passover were spared.
It had only been 2 months since leaving Egypt and the miracle of the Red Sea crossing. They were scarcely more than thirty days since they had clapped their hands, banged their timbrels, and sang loudly their praises for deliverance: “God has triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea” (Exodus 15:20-21). But now the song of praise is ended, the routine of daily life is before them, their doubts arise, they’re hungry, and they’ve allowed fear to creep in that they cannot, and will not, be fed. And so, in less than 2 months, they become disgruntled, discontent, disillusioned, and doubting – they’ve already forgotten all God’s goodness. And their reaction? They long for Egypt again.
They fell victim to what I like to call “short-term memoritus”, as they forget how bad their bondage was. When they were in Egypt, they hollered they were cruelly and inhumanly treated. They said they would do anything – anything – to be free, but now, with empty stomachs, they’re suddenly willing to be slaves again just to be fed. They have completely forgotten how amazing God has been to them.
However, lest we become too judgmental, are they really so different from many of us today? We need to be constantly reminded of the mercies of God that are unending, that are new every morning. Don’t we, in the face of difficult times, doubt that God will handle our present difficulty for us? How often do we grumble over God’s laws, statutes and the responsibilities that we have as Christians, which governs our conduct? How often do we look at others, the non-Christians, and see what they do, how they live seemingly without guilt.
We too often grumble that the life of a faithful disciple is too arduous, the demands are too great, the path too straight, that the church asks too much. We want to live our own lives, do as we please, do it our way, be our own bosses, make our own mistakes, and quote, end quote, “be free!” We forget the high cost of sin: St. Paul was clear, “the wages of sin is death” the free gift of God, is eternal life” (Romans 3:23). We look at the current circumstance and we, like the ancient Israelites, long for the fleshpots of Egypt (i.e. the world). Sin drives us to never be satisfied. We never remember how well off we are, unless we stop and count our blessings. All we seem to see is the pain of the present, and we forget about all the past mercies.
A young boy and his doting grandmother were walking along the ocean shore when a huge wave appeared, sweeping the child off the beach and out to sea. The horrified grandmother, who could not swim, fell to her knees, raised her eyes to heaven, and begged the Lord to return her beloved grandson to her. Lo and behold, another huge wave rolled in and deposited the stunned child on the sand at her feet. The grandmother looked the child over carefully. He was just fine. Then, without missing a beat, she angrily looked to heaven again and asked indignantly, “But what about his hat!” How quickly we forget the mercies of God. We focus instead on the world around us and on the difficulties we face. Maybe the root cause for our short-term memoritis is unbelief. A second factor for our forgetfulness is discontent.
The Hebrew people murmured among themselves and wished to get back to the fleshpots of Egypt. But when they were in Egypt, they shrieked about oppression and were ready to give up anything for liberty; when they got liberty, they were ready to put their necks back in the noose again, so long as they could have their bellies filled. How very human they were, never satisfied with today. Always looking to the future or back to the past to a happier time. We need to see that if we’re not careful, we too can fall into the same trap. The next thing in this lesson we need to remember is, that God listens.
In verse 11 and 12 we read, “And the Lord said to Moses, “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel” (v. 11). God always listens and answers our cries to Him. However, the answer, at times, comes with a test. Take note of what went along with God’s gift of manna. In verse 4 we read, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.”
In the case of the manna, there was to be a certain amount they were to gather each day, and twice as much on the sixth day. If they trusted God to provide for them, then they would be content to collect only what they needed, they would resist the temptation to gather more. What is it that we pray each week? “Give us this day our daily bread.” According to Luther’s explanation in the Small Catechism, “Daily Bread includes everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land, animals, money, goods, a devout husband or wife, devout children, devout workers, devout and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, self-control, good reputation, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.” Is it that we would rather complain than to count our blessings?
There’s an old story that comes out of the Missouri Ozarks; it tells of a hound dog sitting in a country store, howling his head off, as hounds are prone to do. A stranger came in and said to the storekeeper, “What’s the matter with that dog?” The man said, “He’s sittin’ on a cockleburr.” “Then,” asked the stranger, “why doesn’t he get off?” “Because,” replied the storekeeper, “he’d rather holler!”
Is it that we too forget the blessing of God, and like the Israelites, become blind to past mercies, and begin to grumble and gripe and complain about our situation. These petulant, peevish people lashed out at God and Moses, “We wish the Lord had killed us in Egypt. There at least we could sit down and eat meat and as much other food as we wanted. But you have brought us out into this desert to starve us all to death.” How like spoiled children they were.
How could they, in just a few short weeks, forget the plagues visited upon the Egyptians, the parting of the Red Sea, the destruction of the Egyptian army and the water from the rock at Meribah? Is it that one of our best abilities is to gripe? God has delivered us from the bondage of sin, death, and the devil, and yet, we still find plenty of things we don’t like. We come to church and complain about the A/C not being set to a temperature we like. Some might fuss about the hymn selection or that the service is too long. We complain that the demands of discipleship are too much, even as we sit in a comfortable Sanctuary that is mortgage free, in a country where we can worship openly, and we’re free to express our opinions freely and openly without fear of reprisal. And the complaints don’t stop there, do they?
We might complain about our education system, the lack of police, fire, and first responder resources, all the while grumbling about the taxes required to pay these public servants. We complain about the job, the other employees, or even the make of the cars they have us use, all the time forgetting to be thankful for having a job, fellow workers to share the load, and for provided transportation. We might even be guilty of complaining that our home is too small, or too big, forgetting that we have a warm, dry place to go home to.
Lucy Van Pelt, of the “Peanuts” comic strip, once went throughout the neighborhood with a petition which she asked everyone to sign. When she came to Charlie Brown, he asked her what it was, and she replied, “It’s a disclaimer. It absolves me from all blame.” When Charlie Brown asked what that meant she answered, “This document guarantees that anytime, from now on, if anything should ever go wrong, anywhere in the universe, I can’t be blamed for it!”
After all, it’s never our fault! – God ought to strike us dead, or, at least, let us struggle all by ourselves for awhile. But what He does for us – as He did for those petulant people called Israel, is grant us His patient mercies and our Daily Bread. In the Exodus narrative, four times at least, the murmurings of Israel are mentioned. They acted like cranky, spoiled children. So when they were told to come near to the Lord (with the ominous warning “He has heard your complaint”), they must have felt a great deal of fear and trepidation. They must have wondered if they were going to be punished for their fractious behavior.
When a child is caught throwing a fit – kicking and screaming – and the parent firmly says, “Come here!”, the child will approach the parent with great hesitancy, knowing they’re going to get it, as they’re called to account for their actions. However, instead of chastising the Jews, the message from the cloud is gentle, and the Voice of God promises them manna and meat. Oftentimes, God, thank goodness, doesn’t use the rod in response to our grumbling, instead He responds with patience. God sometimes shames our unbelief with a swift, generous answer. Faith is what we need to receive God’s generous gifts, and God, in His mercy, gives us what we need in our doubts.
When our faith is lacking, when our fears cause us to murmur and complain, it’s good to know that God still listens and will give us what we need, our Daily Bread. And the good news is, even when we behave like spoiled brats, God still loves us! And there’s one more thing we need to see in our Old Testament lesson. Jesus laid His hand upon it and claimed it as a faint foreshadowing of what He Himself is, the true Bread of Heaven.
After Jesus had performed the miracle of the loaves and fishes (John 6:1-13), the Jews came to Him and demanded a greater sign that they might believe in Him. They quoted Moses as the giver of manna, and of course the implication is, if Jesus truly is the Messiah, He will be able to duplicate the manna-miracle. Usually, when His adversaries baited Him, Jesus refused to respond, but this time He told His questioners He not only gives the manna, but He Himself is the manna, not just for them, but for all the world. When you stop and think about it, it’s easy to see how the manna symbolizes Christ.
The manna came from heaven; so did Jesus. The manna was food; Jesus is our spiritual food; He is the Bread of Life. Jesus is superior in every way to the desert manna, because He is the “true bread from heaven which gives life to the world” (John 6:33). The wilderness manna was needed for only a limited time – until they reached the Promised Land. Jesus is the heavenly Bread for all people, for all time, and is the same “yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). The Israelites got tired of the wilderness manna (grumbling again), and longed for the cucumbers, leeks, melons, and garlic of Egypt, but we can never get enough of the “Bread of Heaven.” He is all we need, Jesus fully satisfies. What marvelous provision God has made for us in giving us Jesus. This is why it’s important for us to remember the words of institution, “Do this in Remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19).
When the day-to-day disappointments of life get to be too much, we cannot let them send us scurrying back to some memory-mirage of a smorgasbord back in Egypt. Instead, let us count our blessings. Let us recall this lesson and remember how God listened and how He provided manna for His people in the wilderness. A jar of manna was kept in the Ark of the Covenant as a constant reminder of God’s faithful provision. God always responds to the needs of His people, and He shows that He can meet our needs even in the most inhospitable and improbable environments. And in the end, that manna was the foretaste of the real “bread from heaven”: the ultimate provision for all sin-sick souls, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
So anytime we’re tempted to forget all God has done, and is doing, in our lives, go back and reread our Psalm for today, “The Lord is faithful in all his words and merciful in all his deeds. The Lord upholds all those who fall; he lifts up those who are bowed down. The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord, and you give them their food in due season. You open wide your hand and satisfy the needs of every living creature. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and loving in all his works. The Lord is near to those who call upon him, to all who call upon him faithfully. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he hears their cry and helps them. The Lord preserves all those who love him, but he destroys all the wicked.”
Amen
