March 17, 2013, "Give Us This Day"

Psalm 119.73-80; Luke 12.13-21

Much of what Jesus says and does flows out of Israel’s story … anchored by the Exodus - I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

When Jesus says, Give us this day our daily bread, what would the disciples have thought of?

That’s right … the Exodus Story … manna in the wilderness … basic and simple, new every morning - enough for everyone!

The manna couldn’t be stockpiled for the next day - some folks tried to store it, and it became infested with worms and it stank … they had to go out every morning, to gather their daily bread - six days you shall labor, says the Commandment… and only on the sixth day, could they gather more for the sabbath day, the day of rest.

When Jesus says, Give us this day our daily bread, Jesus takes the disciples back to the wilderness … a time when God’s people were spiritually formed … prepared for the Promised Land … Here’s what you need to know in order to thrive … God will provide for you what’s needed … there’s more than enough to go around … 

Do not be afraid … trust God … 

Jesus knows full well that if the disciples are going to be of any value to the Kingdom of God, they have to live by two spiritual principles: 1) all that’s needed comes from God … and 2) and whatever the need, God provides.

Jesus frees the disciples from the most debilitating sin of all - the fear of not having enough … and here’s where the rubber hits the road for me - all my life, I’ve feared not having enough … someone might well say, Well, why in the world did ya’ go into the ministry if you were afraid of not having enough?

I was called to the ministry!

But I’ve had to struggle many a sleepless night with the demon of fear, the fear of not having enough.

Perhaps in God’s infinite wisdom, God put me into the ministry, as a place where I would always have to default to God … in the middle of the night, with churning stomach, racing mind, to open my heart with gratitude: O LORD, my God, thank you for what I have, and thank you for your promises to provide. I know that you will give what is needed, and I will trust you all the more.

The fear of not having enough … it’s the Original Sin … the snake said to Adam and Eve, You don’t have enough … take the fruit of the tree while ya’ can … 

Scarcity is the message of many a politician these days … there’s not enough to feed the widow, the orphan and the alien … there isn’t enough for the single mother on welfare, the immigrant who needs medicine, the veteran who lost both legs in the war, the elderly who need special care, the retired, and those who’ve lost their jobs … there isn’t enough to keep up our roads, to keep our schools in good repair and pay our teachers decent salaries … there isn’t enough money; we’re going broke … but what bothers me about that message, there always seems to be enough money for more bombs and missiles and aircraft carriers and tax cuts for the hyper-wealthy … always enough money to wage war, but not enough for Head Start and children’s lunch programs.

The message of scarcity is a lie … it’s not true at all … the only thing lacking is compassion and vision and courage and kindness and daring-do that made this nation great … America is great in the things of God - and when we turn inward, get crabby and fearful and selfish, going after the widow, the orphan and the alien, then we’re the rich fool for sure.

On a personal level, when the fear of not having enough takes hold of me, that’s when greed takes hold of my soul … I start to worry, fret and fuss … and then I get stingy; I get angry … my faith dries up … my soul takes a downward spiral … all I want to do is build bigger barns! And hang on to what I’ve got.

 Jesus tells the parable of a rich man … for whom there was never enough … so the man decides to build bigger barns … and what are the barns for? 

To store the harvest. 

Why store the harvest?

He’s manipulating the market … driving up prices by creating scarcity … more for him, less for others, and others will pay more for it.

The rich man follows the rules of wealth … more for himself and less for others … 

But God says to the man, What a fool you are. Tonight you die, and who, then, will get your wealth? You are rich in the things of life, but you are poor in the things of God.

 The rich man is a fool … he’s missed the point of life … here he is, prosperous enough, plenty for today and more than enough for tomorrow … but he gives in to the message of scarcity, the fearful message - there won’t be enough for me, so I better double down and build bigger barns … he’s a fool … a fool for giving his life to the lie - a message of scarcity, a message of fear, and so he forgets what life is all about.

How different if the rich man had remembered the manna principle … there is always enough … he didn’t need bigger barns … he needed a bigger heart … he didn’t need to store the harvest and drive up prices … he needed to share the harvest, keep prices low, so that everyone could have enough.

In the story of the fives loaves and two fish, the disciples say to Jesus, It’s late in the day, the crowd is hungry. Send ‘em away to find food for themselves. 

Wow … that’s how the disciples saw it … let ‘em fend for themselves; we have only enough for ourselves!

Jesus says to them, No way. You feed them. With what you have … you have enough to feed everyone … and then Jesus says, Bring the food to me, because Jesus knows full well that the disciples weren’t about to let go of the bread and fish to anyone except him, and maybe even then the disciples were reluctant - What is he going to do with our food?

Maybe that’s the great spiritual reality here … give it to Jesus, all of it; get it outta of our hands; let it go.

Jesus gives thanks, blesses what they have, breaks the bread, and gives it all back to the disciples … when all said and done, the crowd is feed, twelve baskets of leftovers … there’s more than enough to take care of the disciples, and more than enough to feed the multitude … when we let go and let God.

In God’s kingdom, there is no scarcity.

Give us this day our daily bread.

Jesus tells the Parable of the Rich Fool to a man who came to Jesus with a complaint about his brother … a matter of inheritance … nothing like an inheritance to disrupt a family.

The man already knows what he wants and tells Jesus to make it so … he wants Jesus to do the dirty work!

Jesus says to him, What makes you think I’m an arbiter of such things?

Do you not already have enough?

Can you not get along with your brother?

Why ask me to force his hand?

This is a game I won’t play with you, and if you know what’s good for you, you won’t play the game either.

Jesus turns to the crowd and says, Watch out. Guard yourselves against all kinds of greed!

Disciples then, or disciples now, always face the demon of scarcity, because we’re human, and the Snake in the grass still tempts us with the original sin: There won’t be enough for you … but Jesus says, There will always be enough. My Father in heaven provides what’s needed, and what’s needed, my Father provides.

If the disciples are going to be of any value whatsoever, they have to be clear about God’s grace - manna in the morning, quail in the evening, and water from a rock.

Give us this day our daily bread.

Amen and Amen!