The Fourth Sunday of Lent - Laetare (11 March, 2018)

Our Daily Bread

And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, "Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."  Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.  On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily."  So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, "At 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 grumbling against the LORD. For what are we, that you grumble against us?"  And Moses said, "When the LORD gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the LORD has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him--what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the LORD."  Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, 'Come near before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.'"  And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.  And the LORD said to Moses, "I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'"  In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp.  And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground.  When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.  This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.'"  And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less.  But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat.  And Moses said to them, "Let no one leave any of it over till the morning."  But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them.  Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.  Exodus 16:2-21

Thus says the LORD: "In a time of favor I have answered you; in a day of salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages, saying to the prisoners, 'Come out,' to those who are in darkness, 'Appear.' They shall feed along the ways; on all bare heights shall be their pasture; they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them.  And I will make all my mountains a road, and my highways shall be raised up.  Behold, these shall come from afar, and behold, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Syene."  Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted.  Isaiah 49:8-13

Arise, O LORD, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might.  Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let your saints shout for joy.  For the sake of your servant David, do not turn away the face of your anointed one.  The LORD swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: "One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne.  If your sons keep my covenant and my testimonies that I shall teach them, their sons also forever shall sit on your throne."  For the LORD has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling place: "This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it.  I will abundantly bless her provisions; I will satisfy her poor with bread.  Her priests I will clothe with salvation, and her saints will shout for joy.  There I will make a horn to sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.  His enemies I will clothe with shame, but on him his crown will shine."  Psalm 132:8-18

Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law?  For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman.  But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise.  Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar.  Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.  But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.  For it is written, "Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband."  Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.  But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now.  But what does the Scripture say? "Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman."  So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.  Galatians 4:21-31

So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.  And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.  And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.  And all who believed were together and had all things in common.  And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.  And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.  Acts 2:41-47

After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.  And a large crowd was following Him, because they saw the signs that He was doing on the sick.  Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples.  Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.  Lifting up His eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward Him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?"  He said this to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.  Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little."  One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?"  Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number.  Jesus then took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.  And when they had eaten their fill, He told His disciples, "Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost."  So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.  When the people saw the sign that He had done, they said, "This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!"  Perceiving then that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.  John 6:1-15

The Children of Israel complained that they were starving.  They claimed that, even as slaves, they ate like kings.  In spite of their whining, God provided for them.

God had just delivered them from slavery.  He rescued them from certain death at the hands of a madman and his army.  And they're belly-aching about food?

Ungrateful.

The people following Jesus were looking for more, too.  Sure, it started off with wanting a handout for a meal, but when the Son of God is on hand to heal any illness, including death, why not go all the way?  Why not make Him the king?

God loves us, right?  And He loves to give us stuff.  So why not ask for Him to give us everything we want?  I deserve it, right?

Stuff like a good job, a shiny car, my team to win the World Super Pennant Olympics, and whirled peas.  But is it appropriate to ask for and expect God to provide these things?

In the Lord's Prayer we say "Give us this day our daily bread."

But what does that mean?

Dr. Luther explained it thusly:

God gives daily bread, even without our prayer, to all wicked men; but we pray in this petition that He would lead us to know it, and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.

To be blunt, we don't deserve anything.  Not all the frivolous trapping of our "best life now" as part of the American Dream.  Not the bare necessities (or bear necessities).  Not even the "certain inalienable rights" we the people foolishly think we're entitled to.

Yet God, out of His infinite grace and mercy, provides for us.  That doesn't mean God provides for our daily existence and continual survival, though He does, within self-imposed limits of allowing punishment for our sins.  First and foremost, God provides for our salvation.  Living temporarily in the here and now is merely a bonus.

We see this in Matthew chapter 6, in the famous Sermon on the Mount.  "Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?'"  (vs. 31)  God will provide.

How?

Sometimes it is divinely, through the ludicrous distribution of a sack lunch to feed a small town.  Or a pitiful amount of flour lasting far longer than is sane.  But most of the time it is through very common means.  Opportunity for a job that is regular and pays just enough.  Or a local food bank.  Or a random and anonymous donation from "someone who cares."

"But what about those people starving in Africa?  Or the men, women, and children living in oppression in North Korea?  Or everyone living under the thumb of Islam?"

Sometimes the plight of people is simply because it is punishment for sinful humanity.  But that is what we, the servants of the King, are called to address.  Sometimes we are called to be the means by which "daily bread" is provided to our neighbor.

And the most important bread that we bring is the one that was brought to us: the Bread of Life.

But He [Jesus] answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”  (Matthew 4:4)