“Bread from Heaven” – Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15 – August 6, 2006

When I was in the Navy I had everything I needed. As an officer I received a good salary. I was provided with total health care and medical care for my family. I always had a roof over my head and a bed to sleep in. The food was good too, and while at sea you could eat as much as you liked. Sometimes I regret leaving the military life since everything was provided. You didn’t have to worry about doctor bills and you had job security.

On the other hand I looked forward to being discharged. I couldn’t wait to be free from all the rules and regulations, or as some would say, all the “Mickey Mouse.” You had to put up with a lot of nonsense. It was a “hurry up and wait” atmosphere. You had duty which kept you aboard ship on weekends. The Navy literally “owned” you, since they could send you anywhere at anytime.

When I entered the civilian world times were difficult. The job market was tight and the economy was in a recession. There were times when I longed for the “good ole days” in the Navy when I had everything. Now, life was risky and I lamented over the days when I felt secure.

This is exactly what happened to the Israelites. Here we find them in the wilderness without food to eat. They were hungry and so they complained to Moses. They recalled the “good ole days” when they had plenty of food and security in Egypt. They were afraid and their journey was hard, dangerous and long. They had forgotten however, that while in Egypt they were slaves. They lived under the oppressive Egyptians who kept them in bondage. Now they were free, but their freedom had a price.

I can appreciate how the Israelites felt. They were uncomfortable and feeling insecure. The harsh times were overwhelming. There are many today who would say that these are difficult times. Escalating costs of housing, gas, and health care are making people anxious. Where will it all end? How can we possibly survive? To make things worse there is a war going on in the Mid East which doesn’t appear to have an end in sight. There is talk about an Asian Flu virus that may kill millions of people.

I received a phone call from our youngest daughter this past week. She wanted me to know that her stove had to be replaced. Her family is getting ready to go on vacation and now they are faced with a setback. “Woe is me,” my daughter was saying.

Does this sound familiar? Here at St. Paul’s Church we are faced with a substantial building repair. The chairperson of our trustees just died and many families in the church are feeling the pains of living in a complex and challenging world. How will we survive?

Then there are those in our midst who are saying, “Remember the good ole days” when life was far less expensive. All we had to do to raise money was host a chicken dinner. Life was simpler. The church was the center of family and community life. Like the Israelites, we complain too. We wonder why God doesn’t intervene and make everything all better.

The good news is that God does intervene. God said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven.” They were promised meat to eat in the evening and bread to eat in the morning.” God delivered quails in the evening and in the morning God gave them “manna.” The manna that God provided was something they Israelites had never seen before. “It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste was like wafers made with honey.” God told them to gather what they needed for that day. It was a new form of food and it lasted for forty years.

One time a man named Max left New York City and he was traveling for several hours in the rain. He got hungry and stopped at a roadside diner. He sat at the counter, next to an elderly man with drooping shoulders, wearing tattered clothing. “Pretty nasty weather out there, isn’t it?” Max said. But the old man appeared despondent to engage in a conversation. Max finished his meal and just before he left he asked the waitress, “How much for a baked apple?” “Two-fifty,” she said. Max gave her three dollars and told her to give the baked apple to the old man. He told her to tell him it was on the house.

Max left the diner and as he traveled he pondered over the fact that he had given the man a baked apple. “Why didn’t I buy him a cup of coffee?” he thought to himself. Perhaps the baked apple would help to bring the man out of his stupor and lift his spirits. The night wore on. Max kept on driving but struggled to stay awake. He fell asleep at the wheel, whereby a huge Mack truck hit him on the side and pushed him off the edge of the road. Max’s car skidded into a ditch. He sat there for a few moments in shock, then slipped into a state of unconsciousness. The trucker didn’t see him and no once noticed his car sitting in the ditch because of the rain.

Finally, after some time, a young man driving by spotted Max’s car. He stopped and sized up the situation. They were in a remote area and it would take a long time for help to come. The young man decided to take Max to his home. He would attend to him then call for help. After arriving at the stranger’s house, Max opened his eyes and he saw an unfamiliar face. “That was some accident you had,” the stranger said. It was hard to get you out of your wrecked car. You were mighty close to the end.” Then he told Max to sit up and said, “Here, my wife made something for you.” Max looked at the plate in front of him and sitting on the glass dish was a fresh baked-apple. (from Small Miracles, Halberstam and Leventhal, Adams Media Corporation, Holbrook, MA, 1997)

Just as Max and the Israelites received what they needed, the Lord will provide for us as well. A few months after I was discharged from the Navy I applied for a job as a purchasing agent for a local hospital. The hospital administrator was an retired Marine. He believed that a former Naval supply officer would be perfect for the position at the hospital. It wasn’t great pay and I had to commute 45 miles, one way. But it paid full benefits and I was able to provide for my young family.

Many of you have burdens and find yourself in the wilderness. You are anxious about the times and so you also complain to God. Perhaps the burden of paying for some piece of equipment that has broken down or making a repair for a building like this one has overwhelmed you. Like the Israelites, we too have forgotten that the Lord always provides.

Early in my ministry I served a church which had problems with a roof that was leaking. The entire Sunday school wing of the church had a flat roof and the building really didn’t look like a church. I sat at a meeting with the church trustees who were wondering what to do. They had few reserves and the project of remodeling the building seemed impossible. For some reason I was inspired and took a piece of paper and drew a new gable roof for the church. They liked my vision. We went to work, had a fund raiser, obtained a matching grant from the denomination and in 120 days we had completely remodeled the building and roof.

“The Lord will provide!” Help may come in ways that are foreign to us, but God will provide for all our needs. God is always watching over us and God wants us to trust in God’s infinite supply of resources. We want to be free, liberated from those people and things that enslave us, but freedom is not void of uncertainty and problems. Our journey in the wilderness is the place between bondage and hope. That place is called life.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio