Lenten Reflection on Exodus 16:1-8; 31
Crisis or wilderness experiences, whether precipitated by daily need or physical suffering can lead to a crisis of faith. In the Exodus passage, just days after being freed from Egyptian bondage, the Israelites find themselves in a state of perceived danger. Obviously, the Israelites had forgotten about God’s provision of water in Elim, just a few verses before. They find themselves, once again in a wilderness place, murmuring and complaining about their perceived lack of food and nourishment. Food instability and lack of access to secure food are realities for far too many people, and most especially for children, in this the land of plenty. Therefore, we cannot minimize the need or fail to hold our government responsible for providing access and resources to secure food, or minimize our responsibility to ensure that people who are hungry are fed.
It is complicated when, we who have more than we will ever need, or use – be it food, money, clothes, or any other material goods – complain that we do not have enough, ignore others in need, or heaven forbid – misuse or waste our God-given resources. Just as God provided sustenance for the Israelites during their forty-year wilderness experience, God provides for us in times of need, as well as in times of plenty. God’s provision is often overlooked or discounted when we are not in need. Terrence Fretheim writes, “The all-too-common effect is to absent God from the ordinary and every day and to go searching for God only in the deep-sea and mountaintop experiences. Consequently, the people of God will not be able to see in the very ordinariness of things that God is the one who bestows blessings again and again.”
The year 2020 proved to be a year of rolling wilderness experiences, extraordinary to say the least…inordinate numbers of people sick, unimaginable numbers of deaths, job losses, financial and food instability, loss of housing, and natural events; fires, floods, mudslides, tornadoes. And yet, just as God was with the Israelites providing water in Elim and manna and quail in the wilderness, God was and is with us. Much like it was with the Israelites, Frethheim explains, “it is in discerning the presence of God in connection with the daily needs that they (and we) will be able to return once again to the confession: Yes, we now know, Yahweh is the one who brought us out of Egypt,” and yes, God has sustained us.
God brought the Israelites out of Egypt and supplied food and water for the people every day, for forty years in the wilderness. I suspect that God’s extraordinary provision of manna in the morning and quail in the evening became ordinary, maybe even monotonous, to the Israelites over the course of all those years. May we take time to identify and give thanks to God for ordinary provision that we may otherwise take for granted: air that fills our lungs and the gentle breeze that kisses our cheeks; the silent beat of our hearts; the rising and setting of the sun and moon every day; the wonder of new life experienced with the birth of every child and the innocent laughter of children; sharing a simple meal with people we love. May we never take God’s ordinary provision for granted or fail to recognize how extraordinary God’s provision is.
This Week’s Spiritual Practice: Mindful Eating Meditation
Mindful eating can be a prayer, a sacrament. When we eat mindfully, each moment is holy.
Preparation: Find a comfortable place to rest, and bring with you a piece of bread or gluten free cracker. If you don’t have bread or crackers, you can substitute with any food you have available. Raisins or small pieces of fruit are wonderful for eating meditation.
If possible, turn off your phone and other electronic devices so that you can relax, uninterrupted…simply give yourself time and space to rest in the present moment for a moment or two. (It’s ok if this brings a gentle smile…) If someone is present with you, you might ask them to read the meditation to you slowly, guiding you as you practice.
Begin by letting yourself rest in your seat, breathing in and out, knowing you are breathing in and out. Let your awareness include your surroundings…the sights, sounds, scents of the place you are in….And let yourself simply slow down…let yourself just be right where you are in the moment. Take a moment to savor simply being here, breathing in, and breathing out. Nowhere to go, nothing to do, no one to be….You might let the next out breath be long and slow, letting go with the out breath…
Now, slowly bring awareness to the piece of bread before you. Linger for awhile, simply aware of the bread that is here for you. This is a deep practice. As you look deeply, you may see that this bread is an ambassador from the whole cosmos. As you pick up the piece of bread, pause, and look at it for a moment, look mindfully to really see the piece of bread. As you look, you know that this is a piece of bread. You know it with your mindfulness: “I know this is a piece of bread.” It only takes a moment.
If you look deeply at this piece of bread, you can see the whole universe in it – the sunshine that helped the wheat to grow, the rain that nourished the seeds, the richness of the soil…the farmer who grew the wheat and threshed the grain…the truck driver who transported the grain…the bakers who made the bread….the shop keeper behind the register….you can see the earth, the rain and the sky. It has come from the whole cosmos for your nourishment.
When you are mindful, you see and feel the bread you are holding in your hand. As you put it up to your mouth, you know that you are putting it up to your mouth. Simply pause. Take a moment to appreciate the scent of the bread, the texture. You might turn the bread over in your hands or fingers, seeing the patterns, the crevices, the shades of light and shadow…
Notice how your body responds to bringing the bread close to your mouth…does your mouth water? Does your belly gurgle? Do you feel an urgency to put the bread in your mouth? Simply notice….so many movements of life in this simple gesture…
You may like to smile to the bread before you put it in your mouth, appreciating God’s gift of nourishment, giving thanks….
As you slowly place the bread in your mouth, what happens? What do you notice as you very slowly begin to chew? Do you feel an urge to rush? To quickly swallow? What’s it like to slow down…to let the bread linger on your tongue?
As you chew, let yourself simply be aware of chewing. Let go of putting anything else into your mouth, like projects, worries, fear…just the bread. And when you chew, let yourself chew only the bread. Let yourself be in this present moment of savoring bread in the here and the now. It is simple, but needs some practice to let yourself just enjoy this piece of bread. This miracle.
What’s it like when the bread becomes liquid in your mouth? What do you notice as you swallow? Can you feel this bread begin to nourish every cell of your body? Pause a moment to simply appreciate being nourished by this, God’s gift of bread to you.
Take a moment to linger, and smile, and give thanks….
Additional Lent Resources
To read this week’s Facing Systemic Racism resource, terrarium instructions, and focus for families with teens please check out the entire Lenten Devotional here.
Families with children can follow along with the Sunday School at Home curriculum that follows the themes and activities as our all church devotional.