Counterculture.
Complaining.
Pointless thinking.
Truthfulness.
Where are you landing in the mix right now?
This combination of readings has an interesting thread for us within our current time. Verses 6 – 8 of Psalm 78 remind us in light of our current culture clash and the tumult of our social evolution, it is even more critical to teach and remember what God has done, who God is, so that we won’t have a heart that isn’t firm. He doesn’t want us to have a spirit that is unfaithful. And it is important that we both model and teach this to our children. We have to be able to stand strong in our convictions no matter what waves or winds blow around us.
It is easy to get swept up in the dialogue that has existed for the last several years in our country. They have taught us to see each other as different. Taught us to strive for our own rights. Taught us to divide ourselves into pieces. They have rewarded complaint.
The Israelites that we meet in this reading from Exodus are full of complaint against God, full of their own need and rights. And in their angry fickleness they claim death would be better! Talk about needing a snack break.
In the midst of high emotions, exhaustion and hopelessness we often say things we don’t mean. And we often exaggerate. I can see that as the root of many of our tumultuous bedtimes with our two young kids. Over excited from the day and over tired from the excitement, they lose control of their emotions and their behavior. Tantrums are unleashed. It’s my job as the parent to model God’s presence to them, to bear witness to Him.
But I’ll be honest – I fall short on that on too many evenings because guess what: I’m tired, too. By bedtime I am often at the end of my rope and I’m not asking for help. I just want them in bed so I can be left alone. I’m striving for my own base needs and hardly standing firm in my heart. My heart is being fickle.
How overwhelmingly beautiful is the response that God gives in Exodus to the Israelites, which Paul then echoes in his letter to the Ephesians. His answer is patient and faithful. His answer is provision to their need. His answer is parental as He sets the test of obedience.
Paul reminds us not to live in a mindset of pointless thinking that leads to being disconnected from God. It closes our heart. You cannot have clear thinking when you think and decide from a place of high emotions, tantrums and hopelessness. When you reach those points, you have to go back and stand firm in the last thing God told you. When you find your heart closing off to Him, choosing to do whatever feels good and mapping your reactions from that place, reach out toward your heavenly Father who wants to give you more.
He meets the base needs, but we are reminded in the reading from John that God wanted to give the Israelites so much more than just a solid meal, full stomachs. He wants more for us, too. Jesus skirts their questions seeking evidence of miracles and seems to gently say, ‘You’re asking the wrong question.’
I am the bread of life.
We have been taught the truth in Jesus. We have been taught to see each other through Jesus. To lay aside ourselves in favor of our neighbor. We have been taught to trust Him for today’s needs and reach past it for the Giver. We have been taught to pray. To call out when our heart doesn’t feel firm, when our flesh feels faithless.
He wants more for us than the winds and waves that threaten us.
He wants more for our children.
Our children learn from what they see us do and say. So, let’s make godly choices that reveal a pleasing, holy fragrance. Let’s decide today to ask Him for more, not just the bread.
Father God, we exalt you above all else. Above our flesh, above our past and our future. Above our jobs and our bank accounts. We crave Your presence in our lives to be our constant, our faithful point of reference when the winds blow. Help us Holy Spirit to speak words of faith, hope and love. Give us words of truth and confidence to proclaim the good news boldly to everyone we meet. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
The readings appointed for Sunday August 1:
Psalm 78:1-25; Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15; Ephesians 4:17-25; John 6:24-35.
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