Resisting Anxiety

September 28^th, 2014         “Resisting Anxiety”    Rev. Heather Jepsen

Exodus 16:2-15 and 17:1-7

          This morning we return to our sermon series on Moses and the people of Israel.  In the previous weeks we have read and studied about Moses’ birth, his call to ministry, the celebration of the Passover, and the journey through the Red Sea.  Today we find the Israelites in a place where they will be for forty years; wandering in the wilderness.

          Because we had guest speakers last week, our readings for this morning cover the lectionary for last Sunday as well as this Sunday.  The stories are very similar.  The Israelites have left behind the Egyptians and the Red Sea and they have begun wandering in the wilderness.  Because of their sinful nature, this is something that they will do for a generation, forty years.

          The people have needs, they are hungry and thirsty.  Their immediate “go-to” plan to fulfill these needs is to complain.  In chapter 16 we find the people hungry and they are complaining against Moses and against God.  “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt when our bellies were full.  You have brought us out here to kill us with hunger!”  It seems to have only a taken a few hours for the Israelites to forget how bad things were in Egypt.  All they can think of was their supply of meat and bread, and not the steady stream of abuse that went with it. 

          God promises to feed the people and two miracles occur.  First quail come and cover the camp.  This will provide meat for the people.  The accompaniment to their meal will be “Manna”, so named for the play on the Hebrew words for “What is it?”, “man hu “. This seems to be a sweet bread like substance that appears on the ground each morning.   

          When God declares that he will give the manna, he also remarks that this is to be a test.  People are to gather only what they need for the day; no more, no less.  As everyone gathers the food and it is measured out, everyone ends up with just the right amount.  Those that gather more have just enough for their family, and those that gather less have just enough for theirs.  The people are to eat the manna for each day and rely on the Lord to provide food for the next day.  Those who ignore the commands of God and hoard the manna, find the stashed away food wormy and inedible.  On the day before the Sabbath, an extra portion is given so that both the heavens and the people may rest on the Sabbath day. 

          In chapter 17 we find the Israelites facing a similar problem, this time it is thirst rather than hunger.  Once again the people fight with Moses and with the Lord; “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?”  This time God commands Moses to strike a rock with his staff, and water will flow from the rock for the people to drink.  Moses does so, but he is not happy about it.  As he said, the people are nearly ready to kill him.  He names the place test and argument because already the people are doubting the presence of the Lord.  Clearly it’s going to be a long forty years!

          As modern readers I think we have a really hard time identifying with the Israelites in these stories.  “What in the world is their problem?” we ask.  “Why are they always complaining?”  I think many of us think that the Israelites live in a time of miracles; with the person of Moses as their leader, and with their food and water coming directly from the hand of God in miraculous, unbelievable ways.  How could they doubt the presence of God?  How could they forget where they had come from?  Why can’t they see how good they have it?  “If I was there,” we say to ourselves, “I wouldn’t have had any trouble believing in God’s power.  I wouldn’t complain like they do.”

          You know what I think friends?  I think we are a lot like the Israelites!  We are in a very similar situation.  We are surrounded by miracles, the hand of God is clear and present in our lives, and yet we complain against the Lord and we continue to grumble and ask for more.  Just like the Israelites, we don’t rely on God to give us what we need.  Let me explain.

          The major problem we find in this story is anxiety, and it is one that we Americans really struggle with.  In fact, some theologians argue that anxiety is the root of all sins.  We are anxious people.  We worry about our time, our space, our ability to exist.  We say we trust in God to provide these things for us but we don’t really.  You can see that in the way that we try to provide all of these things for ourselves.  For example, I trust in God to give me my daily bread, and yet I hoard food like there is no tomorrow.  My family could eat from my cupboards for a month.  Just like the Israelites, I am busy hoarding wormy manna.

          We are anxious about our very existence.  In a great lesson from “The Thoughtful Christian” theology professor Ted Peters writes:

“We are anxious over space and time.  We need space and time; otherwise we are nothing.  If someone takes away our time, we are dead.  If someone denies us space, we cease to have existence.  When someone cuts in front of us while in line for the checkout counter at the supermarket or cuts us off while driving on the freeway, we can feel the anger beginning in our toes and racing throughout our entire body.  Why?  Because that person has denied us our space, and, if we hastily look at our watch, we are feeling cheated out of some of our time.  That line cutter has refused to acknowledge our presence, refused to acknowledge our identity.  He or she has stolen our space and our time.  To lose that acknowledgment of our identity elicits a fear that we have ceased to be, that we are closer to nonbeing.  A part of us wants to kill the interloper in order to demonstrate that we are present, that we have the power of being within ourselves.”

Sound familiar?  We are super anxious about protecting what we need, about food and time and space.  Anxiety in itself is not necessarily a sin, but it is a rich soil in which sin can grow.  Anxiety leads us to acts of aggression and violence.  Suddenly “love your neighbor” becomes “push your neighbor out of the way to get what is you need.”

          The Israelites were anxious.  They had been living in an anxiety producing climate and place where their time and space, their very existence, was constantly under threat.  They are used to receiving food in a way that encouraged them to hoard, to be greedy, to be anxious, and to be afraid.  Now the Lord is trying to teach them to receive food in an entirely different way.  A way that trusts, a way that is open-handed and free, a way that assumes there is enough time and space, enough food for everyone.  How hard would it be to take only what we need for today, and trust that God will provide what we need for tomorrow?

          As people in America, we are surrounded by a great wealth of blessings.  Much more wondrous than manna or water from a rock are all the goods and services that are right at our fingertips.  Spending time in Africa really helped me gain some perspective on this.  Each morning as I brush my teeth I marvel at the ease in which I have obtained a tooth brush and tooth paste.  In fact, I even have extra brushes and paste in the cupboard should I drop mine in the toilet.  If I were to drop all my toothbrushes in the toilet, I could go to the store in 5 minutes and buy another toothbrush for very little money.  The tap water that comes out of my bathroom sink is clean and drinkable.  The fact, that I even have a sink is a miracle.  The fact that there are 4 sinks in my house is incredible, beyond belief. 

The blessings that have come into my life directly from the hand of God are beyond count.  And yet, like many Americans, I worry I won’t have enough.  I worry that God won’t provide.  I am tempted to complain, and I ask God for more than what I need.  I am no different than the Israelites in the wilderness, blind to what I have and always asking for more.  We share the sin of anxiety.

The message of this reading to us and the message of the gospel as a whole, is to let that anxiety go.  As people of faith we are called to trust in God to protect us, trust in God to provide for us, trust in God to fulfill our needs for today.  Jesus teaches us to pray “Give us this day our daily bread.”  We are to ask for what we need for one day, and let God take care of the rest.  Don’t try to hoard your manna, it will just get wormy.

Today I want to encourage you to be aware of all the miracles that surround you: from toilet paper in the bathroom, to a car to take you wherever you want to go, to a safe road to drive on, to the abundance of food at lunch.  Look, open your eyes and look, at all God has given you.  Enjoy it, say thanks, and don’t worry about tomorrow.  Resist anxiety.  God will provide.  I promise.  Amen.