Sermon Recap (In case you missed it…)

Written by Unity United Church on. Posted in News

Exodus 16:1-20 “The What is Enough”

So “WHAT” is what we were  looking at on Sunday. 

“What?” You may ask.

Yes, that’s right. We looked at “what.”………(keep reading)

Sunday was World Wide Communion Sunday. Appropriate since we were looking at the story of the Bread from Heaven…or should I say Manna…or should I say….”man” (pronounced ‘mon’) or should I say “What?”

Long story shortened and overly simplified: the Hebrew word in this story is “man” which simply means “what”. That was the response the Israelites had when they saw the flakey stuff that covered the ground like dew. “What?” Now, we speakers of English have adjusted it to a question that looks like “What is it?” — In Hebrew that’s “mannu”. And that became “manna.”

We don’t know much about  “the what”. Some like to speculate. I’ve heard everything from “It’s a secretion from locusts” to “It was actual bread from heaven.” As for me, I like not knowing what it is specifically—leaves more room for the mystery of God.

But here’s what we DO know about “the what.”

It’s not like earthly bread. It can’t be hoarded. And when Israelites try to hoard it, “the what” becomes infested—it breeds worms and becomes inedible. They had enough to meet their needs.

It’s self-leveling. The Israelites were supposed to collect an omer of it each—but double before Sabbath so they wouldn’t have to work to collect it. And the measures balanced out. Those who took to little had an omer—those who took to much had an omer. There was enough to go around.

Sometimes, we don’t always recognize blessings when they come to us—especially if we’re praying for specific things, like winning a lottery to solve our money problems or praying for a vacation when we need to take a break from work.

Sometimes when God sends us something we stand there in wonder and ask “What?” But when we receive that blessing, we discover that it is enough. I think the mystery of grace is sufficiency. 

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