Park UMC. Exodus 16 Manna Moments Sept 18, 2011
.we read that story of the manna in the wilderness
and it's one of my favorite stories..
but here s my question
have you ever seen any manna?
. now I know
it says that when the Hebrews entered
the promised land
the miracle of manna ended
,,but I don’t think so.. not quite
you see this is not just a story about a miracle long ago
this is also a living word.. for today
as picture of our life in faith
it's an ongoing metaphor

we too are in the wilderness
aren’t we? we too are on a spiritual journey
still being set free
traveling out of our slavery
the exodus is our story also
and we too
are being formed into a new people

and so the manna story is also our story
but then.. have you seen any manna
now I am
not talking about that mysterious flaky,,, seed like food on the ground
that they would gather up in the morning
and I know here are some theories . naturalistic theories
about what that manna might have been
was it a kind of honey dew from an insect
or an edible sap form the tamarisk
or even some kind of mushrooms.
well .. I’m not interested in those theories
I just like what the story says
manna
is God given food
Manna is the gift that comes to you each day
we have the words from the song great is they faithfulness..
morning by morning new mercies I see

great is thy faithfulness
that s the manna story

those day by mercies ..of Gods faithfulness
have you e ever s seen that manna.
what did it look like?
.now I love what the word manna itself means
it means what is it..
in Hebrew or maybe Aramaic
what is it
they look at this gift from god
what is it
,,they don't quite know how to describe it
they didn’t know what it was going to be ...
had not seen this before
but they recognize it as a gift from God

have you seen any manna like that
well look at it this way
have your you started out the day
not knowing
how you were going to get though this situation
have you ever been in one of those wilderness times
like these old Hebrews wandering and wondering what next
what next

maybe even complaining.. murmuring

I love the verse s
that say all the congregation was murmuring
murmuring has been around a long time
complaining
talking about the leaders
"whose idea was this ? can we trust this..
in verse3
they are asking have we been lead out here to die of hunger

at least back in Egypt
we had those stewpots / we had some meat
and we had plenty of bread
But now
what have we got here
nothing..
Murmuring... complaining.... doubting
and fear .... yes it fears..maybe anger
and uncertainty
Don’t tell me you’ve never been there.
this week someone asked me how do you handle being angry with God?

but this manna lesson says
God hears their complaining
v 9 says draw near to the lord
for God has heard your complaining
their murmuring
their doubt
I like the idea that murmuring or complaining can be a form of prayer
this is important because
I have prayer like that..

I see it a lot in the bible
read the psalms
psalms of lament
or even psalm of cursing ..... imprecatory psalms we call them
or read the prophets
you will hear complaining in the prayers
maybe that's another way
to hear the old song what a friend we have in Jesus
all our sins and grief’s to bear

hear that?
all of the sins and grief’s
what a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer
sins and grief to bear
I think we give god a lot of grief
in our prayer
but the good news
is that god hears the complaining
God put s up with the grief we give to God
and God says
I will rain down bread from heaven
aren’t you glad
God goes doesn’t rain down fire and brimstone
when we complain and worry and grumble
manna is a story of grace
Gods is going give them bread

have you seen that manna

when you are going thought hard time
and gods hears it..accept it.
and god still gives and loves
..in spite of our doubts and our ..
have you seen that manna of Gods graceful listening to me Just as am
do you ever go and look for thann manna
gather rit up..the Hebrews were told to go and gather it up...
how do you do that
how do you open your eyes to it.
. I s suppose you could like at your daily spiritual practices as a form of manna gathering
do you think this is where the idea of daily devotions fits in
take a few minutes in the day
to read a verse ,,, maybe read the upper room or the daily bread
or some of the many on line emails that give you thought for the day
I think that's a form of manna that gather up day by day,
,you may not know w ahead d of time
what the verse or the thought or the effect might
but it might be what gets you through
one day at a time isn't it..
manna is one day a t time
a word of encouragement
a nudge of the spirit.. a peace that passes understanding
a moment of silence o
r prayer and you know that somehow you are not alone

that's manna have you see n any mann

Now another thing
that strikes me about this manna is that apparently it was very small
and maybe just a bible verse or a minute or so of silence
a little prayer time
can seem pretty small ..and insignificant
but God is teaching us to look for the small miracles day by day.
I know that the big flashy miracle s like the crossing of the red sea... those
things get your attention
like some scene form Cecil be demil in the ten commandments
but that little bit of manna on the ground ... is an invitation to daily miracle watching
..
Pam Serdar our district superintendent/ in her recent newsletter
described a man who claimed that nothing
had impressed him in his 55 years of living
accept the grand canyon
now you have to admit
that the grand canyon is big and impressive
but a s Pam serdar went on to say
how sad
that this person didn't get impressed by all the little daily things
that are around us in life
to live without a sense of awe and wonder
is sad
it’s like ignore the manna
it’s a refusal to gather the daily miracles
all the things that we could see as gifts from God
and she goes on to mention things like the winter frost
 The crackle of dry leaves on a chilly autumn afternoon.
 The endless shades of green on a summer hillside.
 The scent of lilacs in spring
have you seen a manna today

will you see some manna in the leaves as they begin to turn around here leaf by leaf..tree by tree.
will you open your eyes to gather the manna in your life

I think there is great mann song in the sound of music
these are few of my favorite things
'raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens'
and Maria thinks of those things ..when things are e going bad
that a way of gathering the emann..
acceptinghte daily signs of god that feed us.
have you seen a manna
maybe the manna of words
the manna of encouragement
the manna hope
the manna of help
the manna of another person
the manna of prayer.
let me leave you with a little story that I can hear as a manna story

from Howard Thurman .... in his autobiography,
( With Head and Heart)
. Thurman was dean of the Chapel at Boston University and a canon at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine
but this story goes back to when
. He had just finished the eighth grade in Daytona Beach, Florida
and he was ready for high school.

But this is in 1912,... ..1912
and there were only three public schools in the state of Florida
that offered a high school education to African American youth
.but There were some church related schools that did,
and one of those was the Florida Baptist Academy in Jacksonville.

Thurman had a relative. that said that if he did some chores he could stay with them
and get one meal a day
So the school s season came and Thurman went down to the train station
he had an old trunk with no lock and no handles
,it was tied shut with a rope
but When he bought his train ticket
the railroad agent would not accept the trunk as baggage
because the Regulations said that the baggage check
had to be attached to the trunk handle,
not to a rope.
so he would have to pay extra to ship the trunk
but Thurman only had a little over a dollar left and it wasn't enough to ship the trunk
Thurman said
that he sat on the railway station steps
and cried his eyes out.
Until
when he opened his eyes,
there was a pair of work shoes standing in front of him.
The shoes were worn by a black man dressed in overalls and a denim cap.
He looked down at Thurman,
rolled a cigarette
, lit it and asked
,, what are you crying about?”
So Thurman told him,
and the man said,
“If you’re trying to get out of this town' to get an education,
the least I can do is to help you.
Come with me.”

the stranger got the shipping ticket for the trunk,
and he turned and disappeared
and Thurman says he never saw him again.

I think it was a manna moment
but why did that man notice this and care about it..and help him
The dedication to Howard Thurman’s autobiography reads
, “To the stranger in the
railroad station in Daytona Beach who restored my broken dream sixty five years ago.”

it was this gift that Thurman didn’t see coming
and maybe this generous stranger
did that because he had gather some manna his own life
and he could be manna in someone wilderness
have you seen any manna
well you can see where this is going
will you look for the many of daily signs and gifts.
.. trust that they are there
in maybe small.. daily,,but yet to be discovered ways..look for them
but then also maybe be them

the world is still hungry
we still need manna
we still need to share the manna
if you look at the manna lesson
youwillsee that above all it was teaching them to trust God
verse 4 and other s in the story say that God was using the manna to test them..to teach them..to shape them..into new behavior
and so in the manna lesson
they could not stockpile or hoard the manna.

it was a lesson in sharing and living with trust and gratitude and generosity
They were being taught o live in the manna moments
and to be manna people
I think the
and ,no malaria campaign
is very much a manna lesson for us today

manna a is a mosquito net . it saving a life just ten dollars at a time
or a sign that we care
God is giving manna though us,

manna is what we all need to receive..and learn
and to share. day by day
and I see manna all around you and in you
Have you seen any manna..day by day.. the manna is here