09/24/2017 ~ 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost ~ (Proper 20) ~ Exodus 16:2-15; Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45; Jonah 3:10-4:11; Psalm 145:1-8 Philippians 1:21-30; Matthew 20:1-16 ~ VIDEO OF FULL SERVICE: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7960701/video/868784126

Bread/ Love

“I have heard the complaining of the people of Israel; say to them, ‘At twilight, in the evening, you will eat meat and in the morning you will have your fill of bread. Then you will know that I am Yahweh, I am your God.’” — Exodus 16:12.

I have said this here before so most of you know it. I am a Vietnam veteran. When drafted I was working as a computer operator. I suspect the Army used Army logic in making the following decision. They said, “computer operator… computer operator— that starts with a ‘C.’ What else starts with a ‘C’— oh, yes— cook— let’s make him a cook.”

So after eight weeks of Basic at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, I was shipped off to cook’s school at Fort Lee, Virginia. Cook’s school meant there was some serious training from butchering to baking.

It also meant after only eight weeks I got a promotion. I was now a Specialist Fourth Class. In language more accessible to civilians, that meant I had gone from a lowly Buck Private at the start of Basic to corporal in just sixteen weeks, three grades up.

Shortly thereafter I found myself on a plane to Vietnam. While there I served in two locations, downtown Saigon and Tan Son Nhut Air Base. As those things go these were both relatively safe.

On the other hand, once in each of those locations I was blown out of bed by incoming. I am not looking for any sympathy in saying that. I am merely naming the reality of that war and many wars in the modern era. No place was or is safe.

The Saigon the mess hall at which I worked was a little exclusive. This facility served only field grade officers and above. Again, in language more accessible to civilians, that meant only officers who had attained the rank of Major or above could eat there. We also served civilian personnel of higher ranks from the American Embassy.

It turns out there was real advantage for me in being at that Field Grade officer Mess. Because of the contacts I made I was able to talk one of those high ranking officers into getting me transferred to a computer outfit on Tan Son Nhut Air Base. This computer installation kept track of all the supplies for all the helicopters in country.

Sometime after that transfer I got three days of in country R & R. Again for civilians, R & R is Rest and Relaxation. In-country meant Vung Tau which is about 60 miles southeast of Saigon on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. As part of a helicopter unit I did not worry about transportation to Vung Tau. I just hitched a ride on a chopper.

As it happens that ride was a real adventure. We took off, got some altitude, then the chopper swooped low over the rice patties. The flight crew was trying to draw fire from the Viet Cong and thereby invite them to reveal their position. We would have, in turn, gone after them. Fortunately, we drew no fire. (Slight pause.)

When I got back from Vietnam I did some soul searching. I asked, ‘why had I survived when better than 50,000 of us did not?’

While I thank God every day for my safe return, I do know this about the fact that I did come back. It is totally wrong— not merely inappropriate or incompetent but wrong— to say I survived because God favored me. Why? The implication is God wanted better than 50,000 dead. I don’t think so. (Slight pause.)

We hear these words in the work known as Exodus: “I have heard the complaining of the people of Israel; say to them, ‘At twilight, in the evening, you will eat meat and in the morning you will have your fill of bread. Then you will know that I am Yahweh, I am your God.’” (Slight pause.)

The story of the miraculous feeding of the Israelites portrays God as a zealous protector of the people of Israel. Hence, the question the reading poses is simple. Are the actions portrayed meant to be merely about God looking after the welfare of the Hebrew people or is there something else going on?

I want to suggest the miraculous details of the story are not about food. Rather, this story is about a witness to liberation, the freedom Yahweh, God, offers and a witness to the presence of Yahweh, God.

You see, the following words refer to liberation, the freedom offered by God, and they are found in verse 7 (quote:): “…it was Yahweh Who brought you out of Egypt,…” These next words refer to the presence of God and they are found in verse 10 (quote:): “…they looked toward the desert, the wilderness, and there the kabod of God, the glory of Yahweh, appeared in the form of a cloud.”

Let me address that Hebrew word kabod. It is often translated as “glory.” But that’s because there is no equivalent in English. One meaning of the word is the reality of the presence of God. But there is more to kabod than that. Kabod also means a manifestation of God, hence the reference to the cloud.

I need to be clear on this count. Contrary to populist modern concepts, in both the Hebrew Scriptures and in the Christian Scriptures, the work we commonly call the Bible, the presence of God, this kabod, this glory, this manifestation of God, is often seen as an overwhelming and sometimes even a frightening experience. (Slight pause.)

Now, the Fifteenth Verse of the King James translation of this passage says this about the bread like substance found each morning. (Quote:) “When the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, it is manna…” The word “manna”— and that’s where we get that word from— the word “manna” is actually a transliteration of a Hebrew word. But the translation I used and many other translations say (quote:) “When the Israelites saw this, they said to each other, “What is it?”

Why? The word manna means “what is it?” I think the manuscript is purposeful in using this verbal skewing, this word play, and it’s a key to the reading and to the story.

You see, using word play to refer to the flakes— this fine, delicate, powdery, substance, as fine as frost— using word play lets us know to not take the bread and meat pictured too literally. What does this word invite us to ask? It invites us to ask, ‘does God provide?’ Yes, God provides.

And what God provides is this manna— this “what is it?”— and that points us toward a central, vital truth. God provides— God provides liberation, freedom, presence. Therefore, God provides love; God walks with us.

In short, this is not a passage about food. Neither is this a passage about winning or losing. This is a passage about the kabod, about the constant, real presence of God, about the love God offers, about liberation, the freedom God offers, a passage about God who walks with us.

One clear reason I say this passage about the constant presence of God is scholars agree that manna, this “what is it,” does not stop until the Israelites enter Canaan. The manna does not stop for forty years. Therefore, this is about the kabod, the constant, real presence of God, the love God offers, the liberation of God, God who walks with us. (Slight pause.)

Over the course of years I have probably said this on a Sunday morning a couple hundred times. There is another way to present the idea which says this passage is about the kabod, the constant, real presence and love God offers, liberation and freedom of God, God who walks with us.

God loves us and wants to be in covenant with us. God loves us and wants to be in covenant with us. What more is there to say? Amen.

09/24/2023
Elijah Kellogg Church, Harpswell, Maine

ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is a précis of what was said: “Earlier I stated God did not want 50,000 to die. To discredit God in that way is a justification which says God chooses winners and losers. And people do say winning and losing is up to God. But this claim is not made by Christian theology. It is made by American theology. For example, a baseball player, a football player will say they won because God helps— American theology— someone wins or loses because God wanted it. Christian theology says God loves everyone. Winning and losing is not part of the love for everyone equation, is it? And the love God has for us is a constant, real presence. God walks with everyone.”

BENEDICTION: God surprises us. Let us trust God and give thanks. Let us seek God’s will. And may the blessing of the God of Abraham and Sarah, the God of Jesus, the one who is the Christ, and the Holy Spirit who broods over the world as a mother hen over chicks, be upon us and remain with us always. And may we love God so much, that we love nothing else too much. May we be so in awe of God, that we are in awe of no one else and nothing else. Amen.