| Today we hear about that 'manna' and what it meant for an anxious people - again from "Mandate to Difference" by Walter Brueggemann. The narrative does not explain the abundance that fell from the sky. Indeed, God's abundance always outruns our expectations and our categories of explanation. But of course the abundance of the Creator is given on the terms of the Creator, as it was even in the first of creation (Exodus 16:16-17). Moses warns his people, even as he feeds them, against acquisitiveness, as their perceived scarcity drove them to acquisitiveness even in the face of divine abundance (Exodus 16:19-20). The gathered in their anxiety, but their anxiety was a contradiction of God's abundance. A surplus of anything gathered in anxiety will contradict God's abundance. It is this last sentence that made me stop right here. I immediately went to the BP oil spill and with that all the anxiety we have about oil and energy and getting what we can without making sure we are taking care of the rest of creation. Our anxiety has stunted the expansion of our imagination. Therefore we will not ask what else can we do to provide energy for or lives as we live within the wealth of God's creation. We don't ask how we can actually augment our sources of energy rather than deplete them in ways we are not able to be responsible stewards. I have no idea what manna was all about but I hear from the story telling that it was enough for everyone. That doesn't mean rationing - it means enough for everyone. Those working throughout the day and needing enough to keep them fit and ready for the next day's word - had enough. The most slight of built person - had enough. The biggest person - had enough. And it was all given as God always gives - as a gift to God's beloved people. It was food for the journey to sustain the people and to offer encouragement in the midst of great anxiety. Connection: Where are we going when we are anxious? I'm not sure. How do we help one another remember God's promise of life even as we are unsure of what is in front of us? Lord of fresh manna, you have given us all that will make our lives flourish within your Reign. And yet, we hesitate to be satisfied and to let go our our anxiety-driven lives that make us less than your stewards of life within your Reign. Continue, O God, to turn us to you alone. Amen. |
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