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Drenched in the Miraculous
One summer, my best friends Mike, Charles, and I went hiking in the forests of Western Massachusetts. We weren’t following a real trail, and eventually we realized we were lost—hungry, thirsty, hot, and tired. Mike’s small Boy Scout canteen was empty, and our friendship was wearing thin.
Then we stumbled upon a small cinder block building along a small creek; it was likely a forestry outpost. Though it was locked, a spigot outside provided cool water, and nearby raspberry bushes offered more berries than we could eat. We drank and ate until we were full. It felt like a miracle: water and food appearing just when we needed them.
In Sunday’s reading from Exodus, the Israelites - wandering in the wilderness - are so hungry that they complain and start longing to be enslaved again, just for the security of knowing when a meal would be coming. These stories are meant to show us the depth of God’s compassion, of God’s willingness to provide for God’s children all that we require, whether it is freedom from that which enslaves us or bread to nourish our bodies, God’s abundance flows over us, if we but ask.
I sometimes find myself frustrated with the Israelites. How could people who had witnessed so many miracles still complain? Then I remember: they are a mirror. I am drenched in the miraculous, and yet, so often all I do is complain. Sometimes, my complaints are aloud, but often my complaints come in my outlook: I see all the places in my life where I lack, when I'm jealous of someone else's life, when I long for a mythical dream life that never has existed...
I can become so focused on what I lack that I overlook the abundance already surrounding me: a safe and beautiful home that is warm in winter and cool in summer, my family is healthy and doing pretty well, I have food enough and never worry about clean drinking water. God's blessings overflow.
What the Israelites were really asking as they complained in the wilderness was, “Is God among us? Does God care when we are lost, scared, afraid?” The answer was—and always is—yes. God is present in our hunger, our fears, our needs, and our ordinary days. God’s generosity surrounds us again and again. May we have eyes to notice it.
Blessings,
Rev. Jill
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In Case You Missed It:
If you would like to hear it again,
here is Rev. Jill's sermon from September 13
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