Wondering in the Wilderness

Dear Friends:  I am sending this note out this morning, as tomorrow is the CANA council meeting, for which I am a delegate.  This is the first time CANA (Convocation of Anglicans in North America, i.e. churches sponsored by the Archdiocese of Nigeria) has met as a part of the larger Anglican Church of North America, so it will be an exciting time!! 

 

This upcoming Sunday we will be reaching back into the Old Testament, to look at a particular episode in the life of God's people, namely, the time they were wondering in the Wilderness, and received the gift of manna and quail to eat.  Be sure to read Exodus 16:2-25 prior to Sunday.

 

The incident occurred only a couple of months after their Exodus from Egypt, and the "Back to Egypt" Committee was in full swing.  What is a "Back to Egypt" Committee?  In the life of the Church, it's any group of people who want to go back to the "good old days" sometime in the past, foregoing any new direction God might be calling us to go into in the future.  The Committee operates even if there is no "Good Old Days" to go back to!!

 

Well, the Back to Egypt Committee complained to Moses that He had led them out into this hot, dry, Wilderness so they might starve.   They said when they were slaves in Egypt they had their fill to eat (imagine that--slaves in an oppresive regime thinking they ate their fill!   Methinks memory had been blurred by the act of complaining!!).  So God heard their complaint, and sent them manna, a fine, flaky substance that lasted only one day.  The word manna means "What is it?".  Scholars have speculated endlessly about what manna was, but it is sufficient to know that God provided it as an act of grace.  And when the manna got old, God sent quail.  Not a bad feast for a bunch of desert wanderers!!

 

This passage is paired in the lectionary with the Gospel reading where Jesus proclaims that He is the Bread of Life.  The pairing is obvious.  God will supply our needs, whether it be of the body, or of the soul.  Our God is a faithful God, who will not let us down.

 

There are some other things we are going to discuss this Sunday, and I'll see you then so we might discuss them!!!