Sermon:  “The Lord Will Provide”

Prayer:   “May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts and minds here together be acceptable to you, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.  Amen.”

One day in a small town during really stormy weather, the town begins to flood. Everyone rushes to lifeboats and begins to flee. But in a church a minister sits on the alter and does not move. A man runs up to him.

Man- "Pastor, come quickly, we have a lifeboat ready for you".
Pastor - No, there is no need for me to flee for the lord will provide and he will save me".
Man- "Suit yourself"
A few hours later the water has risen up to the alter where the pastor is standing. A lifeboat zooms through the door with a few men in it. One man calls to the pastor.
Man- "Pastor, come quickly"
Pastor- "No, don’t worry about me, for the lord will provide and he will save me.
So the lifeboat zooms off.
A few hours later the water has risen up to the organ pipes that the pastor is holding onto for dear life, and another lifeboat zooms in.
Man- Pastor, the town is flooding, you must come with us to safety.
Pastor- No, you don’t worry about me. Save yourselves. The lord will provide. He will save me.
A few hours later the water rose up to the roof and the pastor drowned. Later in heaven he met God and said: "Lord, I had so much faith. Why didn’t you save me?!”
And God responded- What are you talking about?? I sent three bloody lifeboats!

Now, many of you have perhaps heard some variation of this story before. I know I have used it before as an illustration. But I think it is particularly fitting in dealing with our scripture readings for today, because I think we learn a few things from it. First, apparently, according to this version…God is British. (3 Bloody Lifeboats) Who knew? But honestly…I think we learn that God’s provision in our lives sometimes comes in creative ways – and at times requires a bit of shift in perspective. We learn that we don’t get to sit idly by waiting for God’s provision. And, we learn that sometimes it doesn’t seem that God’s provision is even fair – at least not to our human eyes. But above all, we are reminded that, no major disaster necessary, the Lord does provide for us each and every day of our lives. So let’s unpack all of these lessons just a little bit.

So as we think about these lessons and first step into our scripture passages this morning, we meet up with the Israelites in exodus in the wilderness. They are grumbling and complaining, which is not only something that seems to have come very easily for them, I think we all could admit that it comes pretty easily to us at times as well. They have been rescued from slavery in Egypt and are heading toward a land they were promised where they would be free, but first they have to make it there, which requires some time in treacherous terrain - including some where food was scarce. As we meet the Israelites today we hear them complaining to Moses and his brother Aaron, who were heading up the group. Now mind you, at this point, God has already made certain that they could find fresh water when none was available – and will do so again later in the book of Exodus as God provides water from a rock. But, as we know all too well, sometimes the things we are dealing with at a particular moment overshadow all else – past or present.

So the people seem to have forgotten already that God provided healthy water for them to drink and are now complaining about not having food. I totally understand that. I can usually be caught complaining about not having enough food a few hours after I ate my last meal – let alone a solid span of time since a last real meal like the Israelites. Moses confronts them saying that who they are really complaining about is not humans but about God, and we can surmise that they aren’t just complaining about a lack of food – and the spiced food that they were given in Egypt – a far cry from the quails and white flaky substance that will soon be covering the earth for them. But they are really complaining about a lack of predictability – a sense of precariousness that they feel out in the wilderness with no real plan, no sense of how long the journey will take, and where they will end up exactly. I don’t know about you, but I get that. I am a planner…don’t really like it when things are up in the air.

But when I read this account from Exodus there is a part of me that wants to scream…Come on, folks! I know this can’t be easy, and I certainly have not walked in your sandals, but your number one traveling companion is God here…you know, the God who showed up in a pillar of cloud and in fire to lead you away from captivity – the God who provided water in the wilderness and is now saying that you will have enough food to not only keep you going but enough so everyone will have their fill. Perhaps a little change in perspective would be fitting. Spiced meat it is not, but provision it certainly is.

I feel like we touched on this particular topic during our prayer class this past Monday night as we spoke about the things that we pray to God for in relation to our own lives and for others who are on our hearts for reason of concern. Because sometimes the requests we make to God are not answered in the way that we might wish them to be. And sometimes we need to shift our perspective to realize that what we want can be different from what God is able to do in divine wisdom. Sometimes we are praying for predictability and spiced meat, while God wants to provide us a new freedom and health that is deeper then just that which others can see on the surface. I am reminded of Garth Brooks song which says, “Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers. Remember when you’re talkin’ to the man upstairs, that just because he may not answer doesn’t mean he don’t care. Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.” If God had answered the prayers of the Israelites they all would have been back in captivity, oppressed and enslaved, but eating well. It just doesn’t seem like the best end of the deal.

However, God was not going to just give them their provisions. God is a God of relationship, of covenant, and he had called these folks – even in the middle of a quite literal wilderness time in their lives – to be faithful, to take their relationship with God seriously – to be willing to follow what God called them to do. And so we examine the second lesson: we don’t just get to sit idly by and wait for God’s provision to land in our laps. We are in this together with God, and merely grumbling and complaining does not get us anywhere near as far as actual steps toward bettering our relationship with God and others. For the chosen people in the wilderness God laid out a set of steps for the reception of their provisions. Take only as much as you need for one day – and on the 6th day take twice as much in order to abstain from work on the Sabbath. And when people chose not to follow these guidelines, the leftovers turned rotten by the morning and could not be used anyway. God was willing to provide, but the people had to trust God and be willing to be a part of the faithful relationship that God had called them into.

You see, our God is not the God of “Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs” – the movie that came out last year, I think, where a young inventor created a machine that literally had it raining all types of food all over his hometown – ice cream, hamburgers, candy, steaks, grilled cheese, and of course spaghetti and meatballs. Instead, our God is one who gives us the gifts and skills to tend gardens and to help bring things to life, to help make things grow – just like the watermelon that we will have a chance to try today during fellowship time. So, even in God’s abundant love for us and willingness to provide, we are called to do a little bit of the work – to accept the ride in the lifeboat, if you will. Faithful participation in our covenant with God means having faith, trusting God, building up our relationship with God and one another, listening to God’s will and instruction for us and following it – it means, not just sitting idly by, but a willingness to meet God half way.

And this is where it gets tricky, and where our laborers from Matthew’s gospel come in. Because they all chose to participate in their provisions – although some chose, or rather had the opportunity, to participate earlier and one could argue more fully than others. Yet all of them at the end of the day were thanked for their work and provided the same wages. And this was the part in my sermon preparation when I realized that God responds in a few ways in regard to lesson number three: that sometimes, to our human eyes, the provision just doesn’t seem fair.

In my case, I know that God has, on occasion, needed to provide me with a good helping of humble pie. There are times when I get to thinking a bit too highly of myself or think that I deserve more – in today’s society some people might even say am owed more – than I have been given. It’s in those times when God does not seem to take any time getting me back on track, helping me to put things into perspective – much like the boss did in the parable. He simply states that all agreed to the same deal – no one gets more or less, you are just provided for in this way. Thank you for your labor.

However, there are those among us who really have born the brunt of unfairness or injustice. In today’s economy, as we think about those without jobs, the common situation I have heard about from our own members is that they have been passed over for a job for someone who was younger. Sure there are people with years of experience and a full set of skills, but the younger folks will build that up and can be offered less money to start. This does certainly seem unfair, and we don’t always understand. And we all have wilderness times in our lives like these – when it seems like nothing is going in our direction, when it seems like the worst is yet to come, and we’re already pretty low. In those times, I would argue, God works to provide us with the strength, comfort, and support to face the challenges if we are but willing to accept it. Sometimes it means being willing to ask for help, even if we have never had to do it before. Sometimes it means being willing to share a bit about our situations with a brother or sister in faith, so we can be lifted up in prayer. Sometimes it means being willing to lay it all out on the line to God – the good, the bad, the ugly feelings – knowing that God can handle it and wants to be there walking with us each step of the way. Sometimes it means allowing ourselves to be carried in the midst of the cruddy stuff in order to make it to the other side. And sometimes that is how God provides for us...through the gifts, the care, the lives of others among and around us.

Sometimes God’s provision is the research of a scientist or doctor who creates the new drug or procedure for the Praxair Cancer Center that we heard about on Tuesday afternoon at Serendippers lunch group. Sometimes God’s provision is the mystery gift card that appears in the mailbox because someone heard we were experiencing financial problems. Sometimes God’s provision is the e-mail that says, “Just wanted to let you know that I am praying for you.” Because even when we are experiencing the most unfair and unpredictable circumstances in our lives, God provides – in the form of a community that is behind us, praying for us, providing the holy casserole, sending cards of encouragement, and walking the journey with us. Because sometimes we are the ones who need the provision, and at those times we need to believe that in some mysterious way that only God knows, the Lord will provide. And other times we are part of God’s provision for others.

So as we prepare to leave this place where we are sheltered and centered and go out into the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives, may God bless us with open minds to new perspectives – with open eyes and hearts to see what the Lord provides for us each day in new and different ways. And may we take our responsibility as covenant participants and providers for others both nearby and around the world seriously, from a place of deep and abiding faith – from a place of graciousness and generosity and love. Because I do believe that whether it is to us or through us, the Lord will provide. Amen.