Homily for Proper 20 A (Revised Common Lectionary)

To be preached at St. John's Lancaster 21 September 2014, God willing.
Exodus 16, Psalm 105(esp vs 42-45), Philippians 1:21-30, Matthew 20:1-16

 

The Children of Israel in the wilderness have always elicited a good bit of sympathy from me.  They were called to forsake all that they had known for 400 years, and against all human odds, to follow God into the wilderness.  It must have been frightening, taking that many people out of Egypt and into a new land.  Certainly, God provided for them, first in the plagues of Egypt through which they were delivered, then in the mighty deliverance at the Red Sea.  There were the gifts of Manna and Quail when they were hungry, and on more than one occasion God instructed Moses where to strike the ground that they might have an abundance of sweet, fresh water.  But still, I can understand why they might hang back and be afraid.  They had families to worry about.  Many of their treasured belongings doubtless had to be left in Egypt.  And there was the continual threat of military action against them by surrounding nations or by renegade tribes.  My heart tells me to understand their fears and their difficulties.

Their fears about the reality of their situation come through loud and clear in today's first lesson. In Chapter 16 alone, they managed to overlook or forget their experience of God's deliverance no fewer than three times.  First, their hunger led them to murmur against Moses and Aaron- in reality against God, saying that they had been better off slaves in Egypt, where at least they had enough to eat.  Then, when God gave them the manna to meet their needs, they refused to follow his instructions about how to receive it gratefully and it rotted in their pots.  Then, when God doubled the miracle to teach them the importance of honoring him with the Sabbath, they did it their own way again, and had the experience of Moses' wrath for their lack of respect for God.  In spite of my initial willingness to give them a sympathetic pass, their history seems to indicate that this was a people who usually considered their own ideas to be better than God's promised provision.

John Calvin was a 16th Century French theologian and religious reformer who is often misquoted, more often misunderstood, and even more often ignored.  His comments on the children of Israel's behavior in this chapter are disturbing because they call us all to examine the real motives of our hearts as we interact with God in this world.  "Moses here recounts that, when he had commanded them all not to take more than enough for their daily food, and to gather a double portion the day before the Sabbath, some were disobedient on both points.  As to the former, since God would supply their food to them just as the breast is given to babes, it was a sign of perverse unbelief that they would not depend on God's providence, but sought for a provision which could last them many days.  It was also a proof of their obstinacy that they would give credit to no warnings until they were convinced by experience that they laid up in their houses nothing but a mass of corruption; for they were not induced to cease from their insatiable greediness till they had received their just punishment."

Those are harsh words, but a quick survey of today's propers confirms that such human attitudes and behaviors are common in every age of man.  Today's lesson from Philippians, taken in context, reveals clearly that in the early church as in early Israel, many considered their own opinions to be those of God.  The parable of the workmen's pay in St. Matthew's Gospel makes it abundantly clear that those workmen, responsible and hard working as they may have been, considered their own notions of fairness and justice superior to the mercy of God given to all who will come.  It is interesting to note in all three of these examples that the bad attitudes: the perverse unbelief, the obstinacy, the mass of corruption, and the insatiable greediness are not located in those who are in open and regular rebellion against God, but in those who largely lead responsible and arguably godly lives, and who yet fail to submit their own druthers and understandings to the revealed way of God.  Here are good people for the most part, who are prone to whine, to negative outlook, and to consider their own plans and solutions superior to those of God.  It is interesting to note that in regards to the first lesson from Exodus, only Caleb and Joshua were allowed to enter the promised land, for only Caleb and Joshua trusted to God and walked in his ways.  Everyone else died in the wilderness.

The answer to this dilemma which is so apparent in the three lessons today is stated specifically in today's Psalm.  This long Psalm recounts the history of God's mercy to his people, and it ends with this truth: "He remembered his holy promise, and Abraham his servant.  And he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness: And gave them the lands of the heathen: and they inherited the labour of the people; That they might observe his statutes, and keep his laws. Praise ye the Lord."

And so the question now turns to each and every one of us.  As you face the vicissitudes and realities of life, do you observe the statutes of God and keep his laws?  Or do you honestly believe that you are special, and that you have a better idea.  It is easy for me to want to believe that because every situation is a little different, every solution is different as well.  I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, realizing that perhaps I don't fully understand everything they are facing.  But I need to recognize and admit before God that at the root of my desire to be nice and understanding there often lurks a Narcissism which says that I am special, and that special considerations are due to special born.  It is a socially acceptable and easy way to convince myself that the way of God as revealed in Old Testament law and New Testament admonition applies to others, but not really to me.  And so in Calvin's words, as I value my own experience above God's Word written, I lay up in my house "a mass of corruption."  A mass of corruption which cripples my soul, destroys my joy, and assures that I will be buried in the wilderness with so many other well meaning people who might have entered the promised land. 

Will you commit today to learn God's will by prayerful study of the Bible and meditation thereon?  Will you commit to gather with real regularity with the people of God to be nourished in word and sacrament?  It is so easy to make excuses and to give ourselves a pass by imagining that our situations are different, but in the end that is a lie of the devil.  God wishes to bring us forth with joy and gladness, and to meet all of our needs, and for that to happen, he has sent Jesus to bear our sins.  Now he asks that we take advantage of this new start by keeping his statutes and obeying his laws.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.