If you have been worshipping regularly with us for the past month, no doubt you have noticed that the first reading every Sunday has been carrying us through the story of Moses and the exodus from Egypt. We have reached the point in the Israelites’ journey where they make a hard transition from city-dwelling slaves to wilderness foragers. When they complain of hunger, God gives them manna. When they thirst, God provides a rock that Moses needs to crack open.
There is plenty of manna to go around every morning, but it has a short shelf life. The rock quenches their thirst, but it isn’t a permanent solution. In fact, through this whole ordeal the Israelites haven’t had a moment to stock up or plan ahead. They can only trust that God will provide enough with each new day.
I recently heard another pastor say this part of the story is the opposite of Aesop’s fable of the ant and the grasshopper. In that story, the ant is praised for spending its whole summer stockpiling food for winter, while the grasshopper fritters its days away.
The Israelites, on the other hand, do best when they rely on their faith in God instead of their own self-sufficiency. Despite what the wealthy told them about hard work and success, their liberty came first from God. Every morning, any leftovers they held onto go bad, but God provides yet again. Daily bread truly is daily.
One of the more popular reality-competition shows over the last few years is Alone, where a dozen or so survival experts are sent into the wilderness, and whoever lasts the longest wins. A few seasons ago, one contestant struck it rich with an abundant catch of fish. He prepared them, dried them out, and seemed a shoe-in for first place. Instead of sustaining himself on this bounty, though, he became Aesop’s ant preparing for a winter that never came. He chose to go hungry to safeguard his stores, and the judges pulled him out of the competition for being dangerously malnourished. Nobody ever ate his stockpile of food.
Aesop’s fable wouldn’t be complete without an ending full of consequence. When winter comes, the grasshopper has nothing and begs the ant for food. In more cutting versions of the tale, the ant foregoes compassion and shuts the door in the face of his hungry neighbor. The ant cares so much about a possible future need that he refuses to do something about the reality of hunger today.
Faith is approaching each day as a gift, taking care of ourselves and our neighbors today first, before we even begin to be concerned about what tomorrow may bring. It goes against every survival instinct and lesson, but we thrive as people of faith when we rely fully on God. What has God given us today, and how can that gift nourish us and our community now?
As Jesus put it, nobody has ever added a day to their lives by worrying about tomorrow. With God, the question is never, “Will we have enough for the future?” but rather, “Has God given me enough for today?” Emergency supplies expire, and stock markets crash, but God always endures. Today’s sufficient scarcity has far more value than an abundance that will go bad before it can even be enjoyed.
Peace,
Pastor Chad McKenna
