Messages, Meditations, and Musings on the Life of Faith by Rev. Dr. Scott E. Olson, Interim Pastor, Christ Lutheran Church, Preston, MN

Sunday, October 6, 2013

"Test and See" - Sermon for the 20th Sunday after Pentecost

Test and See
Exodus 16.1-18 Manna
Pentecost 20
October 6, 2013
Grace, Mankato, MN

We make another narrative leap today, though not as large as last week’s story about Moses’ commission to lead the Israelites. Moses has indeed succeeded in securing the Israelites’ freedom from Egyptian slavery via the 10 plagues. They have crossed the miraculously parted Red Sea and are now six weeks into their journey to the Promised Land. The bloom is off the rose of freedom and the realities of the journey ahead set in. So, now come the questions, questions about God and God’s provision for them, and about Moses’ leadership. In a story that is also our story, the Israelites make a startling discovery while experience a testing of sorts.

Fresh out of college and with no grad school prospects, I entered a management training program with Minnesota Fabrics, a retail fabric chain. The company had an extensive and intensive program where we learned everything from the ground up. The store manager would quiz us on a unit then the group manager would come in and check us off and approve us for moving on to the next level. In my first such unit and test I failed miserably. I learned later that I was almost fired, but at the urging of the store manager was given a second chance. I now knew what I didn’t know and set about learning it. That experience was a kick in the pants for me, a different sort of test, the kind that determines what you are made of and how you will respond to life.

As the Israelites looked back and preserved this memory of their time in the wilderness, they understood that God was working in, with, and through them in a way they hadn’t seen before. They were afraid, so much so that their awful Egyptian slavery looked better than the uncertainty of the journey ahead. What was hard for them to see at the time was that God was preparing them for life in the Promised Land. They needed to learn to trust God for everything and God helped them learn that through the gift of manna. As Beth Tanner notes, “Their bodies may be free from slavery, but it will take much more to free their minds and hearts.” Like my experience at Minnesota Fabrics, God was working in, with, and through them to bring them to a new place.

This past week I had the opportunity to attend the Nobel Conference at Gustavus Adolphus College, “The Universe at Its Limits.” There were many wonder-filled moments, but one highlights an aspect of today’s story. Dr. Samuel Ting, Nobel Laureate and professor of physics at MIT, shared his latest work to launch the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) to the International Space Station (ISS). The AMS is collecting data that aims to identify the origin of dark matter in the universe. That story is incredible in and of itself. However, what struck me was that Dr. Ting noted that, like several others projects before his, they might end up finding something far more important than what they are looking for.

The same is true for the Israelites; as they looked for their next meal, some were looking for bread and others were even looking backward, albeit romantically, to what they had in Egypt. What they discovered as God helped them see was manna. Many biblical scholars think manna is a naturally occurring phenomenon. There are scale insects that suck the sap of the tamarisk bush and excrete globules that crystallize in the sun and fall to the ground. These globules are rich in carbohydrates and sugar and can sustain a hungry traveler. The Israelites saw bug poop in a whole new way, one that supported life and developed trust in God. Almost 1300 years later, eyes will be opened to an itinerant Jewish rabbi who will die on a cross and rise three days later, the Bread of Life from heaven.

About 18 months ago, the church council in retreat adopted this story as our story for our journey of faith. One reason is that we wanted to recognize that we do food well here at Grace and the story is about food. But the main reason is that we see ourselves as on a journey from one place to another and it’s a bit scary. We wanted to acknowledge that some of the “good old days” weren’t as good as we remember. Most importantly, we wanted to remind ourselves that God is the one guiding and providing along the way.

We know that God will be with us even though we may not always see it. We know that what we discover along the way will probably be far more important than what we are looking for. Last of all, we know that God is working in, with, and through us to free our hearts and minds to love God and what God loves. We know this because of Jesus Christ, the Living Bread from heaven, who gives us abundant life. I look forward to discover with you what God will be showing us. Amen.

1 comment:

  1. Interesting. A friend of mine always referred to honey as "bee poop."

    Carry on.
    LLF

    ReplyDelete