"The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."
Then the LORD said to Moses, "I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days." So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, "In the evening you shall know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your complaining against the LORD. For what are we, that you complain against us?"
And Moses said, "When the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning, because the LORD has heard the complaining that you utter against him--what are we? Your complaining is not against us but against the LORD." Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, 'Draw near to the LORD, for he has heard your complaining.'" And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.
The LORD spoke to Moses and said, "I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'" In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground.
When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.
In the story of the Exodus, we know that the Israelites crossed the Red Sea. The Red Sea in Hebrew is actually has the dual meaning of "The Sea of the End". The end of what? Well, the end of oppression, the end of slavery, the end of suffering, and the end of marginalization as a people. But in their minds as a people in today's passage, it was more probable to mean the end of food, the end of creature comforts, the end of life itself! It felt like the ultimate bait and switch and the people wanted none of it! They wanted to go back into slavery.
I completed my Doctor of Ministry this year and looking back on 25 years of education (27 if you want to allow me to count Preschool---hey Play-doh taught me a lot!), I can say one thing for sure. I looked forward to every graduation as if it was an Exodus moment in which the shackles of tests and papers would finally end and I would enter into my own realm of Nirvana. No one told me, though, (well, maybe there was a boring graduation speech that did) that the next step would bring its own challenges, but it did. It wasn't always harder in the same ways but it was different and still a ton of work. Even now, I am burdened by the fact that with that a in front of my name means people actually expect me to know something (many times outside my field) and share it! Education never ends, nor should it. There's a Zen saying that before enlightenment, one must chop wood and carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood and carry water. Too true.
You can pick any story of liberation. In our country, think about those released from slavery in the Emancipation Proclamation. Were they free? Yes. Were they still oppressed? Absolutely yes. Most of us would still say it is a process that has not finished even with having an African-American President. At the same time, many other liberating movements in the model of Exodus continue and emerge among the human family for those who are of various races, religions, and personal realities.
As an example, "It Gets Better" is an Internet-based project founded by Dan Savage and his husband Terry Miller on September 21, 2010, in response to the suicide of Billy Lucas and a number of other teenagers who were bullied because they were gay or because their peers suspected that they were gay, such as Raymond Chase, Tyler Clementi, Ryan Halligan, Asher Brown, and Seth Walsh. Its goal is to prevent suicide among all youth (with emphasis on LGBT youth) by having adults convey the message that these teens' lives will improve. The project has grown rapidly: over 200 videos were uploaded in the first week, and the project's YouTube channel reached the 650 video limit in the next week. The project is now organized on its own website, the It Gets Better Project, and includes more than 22,000 entries from people of all sexual orientations, including many celebrities. (Wikipedia entry "It Gets Better") Many critics, though, point out that this campaign falls short because it does not call for communities to take responsibility and "Make It Better".
The truth is there is hard work ahead in the walk to liberation and little, if any of it, will happen by inertia. The "Promised Land" seems elusive as all of us travel ahead from captivity to liberation. We all have a story of being liberated from something that held us back. If we don't now, we will. We like to think we don't complain in our own wildernesses but we do. We like to think it will just "get better" if we hang on to hope but there is still much work to do on behalf of ourselves and others. The bottom line, the sacramental line if you will, is that our God may well expect us to continue to chop wood and carry water but He also does not leave us without what we need to move forward. He is not a Deistic god that is watching us on our own personal reality TV channel. He is a provider from the abundance of His faithfulness and grace.
The Lord, Adonai, the Holy One of Israel, provides enough manna, bread, for the Journey. Yes, we may approach the altar lost and uncertain with our question, "what is it?" Yet we are always met with the provision and hospitality that "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat."
Eat the manna. Claim the vision. Trust in God. Walk forward. God will provide. Repeat.
Rev. Dr. Kyle Walker is the Director/Campus Minister for United Campus Ministry at Texas A&M University. UCM meets at the Canterbury House for "Aggie Supper" on Thursdays at 6 p.m. All are welcome.
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