Bible Text: Exodus 16:2-15 and Matthew 20: 1-16 | Preacher: Rev. Jenn Geddes
On February 24th, 1965 the Supremes were on tour with the Temptations in Britain. The Supremes had just released their sixth album, the single from which would go on to be number one on the Billboard charts in March of that year and it would be named as one of the 500 songs that shaped Rock and Roll by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The song of course was, “Stop! In the Name of Love”. However, while the Supremes had been a well-known group for a while they had not mastered television performances nor had they any dance moves. They were often criticized for being rather boring to watch. The Temptations, however, were well known for their charismatic television performances. So, just before the two groups were to appear on a Motown television special in London, Paul Williams and Melvin Franklin of the Temptations taught the girls a routine backstage to accompany their new single. Those moves would become staples for The Supremes and would be forever linked to that song, “Stop! In the name of love. Before you break my heart. Think it ooover.” Pretty simple moves that became rather iconic and created a charismatic identity for The Supremes. All it required them to do was stop and think it over much like the words to their song.
We often need to stop and think things over but rarely do we have the time. In a world where to do lists grow longer, expectations become greater, and responsibilities demand time, it is nearly impossible to stop. Sometimes we are so busy that the only thing we have time for is complaining and regardless of our busy schedules we can spend hours complaining.
Some of you may have heard the story from Exodus 16 before or at the very least it is a story that has some repeated themes. Grumbling to God is not a new experience for the Israelites. They, understandably, did it when they were slaves in Egypt. But God heard them and sent Moses, Aaron and Miriam. They did it when they were faced with the Red sea and the pursuing Egyptian army, but God heard them and parted the red sea. They did it three days after that event when they were thirsty and God heard them and provided fresh water. You would think by now that they would realize that God was providing for them and would stop grumbling, but instead a month later, they are back at it. They grumbled and said, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” Wait a minute. Are they really saying that things were better when they were slaves? Wasn’t that the first thing they asked God to deal with? If they just stopped for a moment wouldn’t they see that God really was caring for them? Wouldn’t they realize the amazing blessings and miracles they have witnessed? Yes, they are hungry, maybe even hangry, and sure some food would be nice but they have just experienced redemption of epic proportions and still they grumble and complain.
They complement their complaints with “If onlys.” If only we had died in Egypt, if only we were back in Egypt, if only we hadn’t decided to walk into the wilderness with Moses. If I take an honest look at myself I probably have a few if onlys too. If only I had million dollars than I could have a house in Comox and another in Cumberland, oh and knock off our church’s deficit. If only I knew how to companion plant then I would have better vegetables in my garden this year. If only there was a miracle drug that made you lose weight. If only, if only, if only. If only the Israelites would quit their complaining they would see how lucky they really were.
If only God would do something about this hunger. Which, God does. God speaks to Moses and says, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you,” There is a lesson in this story that clearly God does provide and we need to trust in those provisions but there is something also very important about this story that is often overlooked.
Unlike all the previous moments when God responded to their grumbling, this one comes with a condition. God says, “I’m going to rain bead down from the skies. The people will go out and gather each day’s ration… For six days the people are to gather bread during the day and each night, new bread will be provided, except on the sixth night double the portion of bread will be delivered and they are to collect enough for two days as no bread is to be gathered on the seventh day.” Many of us would read this and say, well, of course, just as with the creation story God is ordaining a day of rest. But the story in Exodus, not the creation story in Genesis, is the first time when God instructs the people to take a Sabbath day. The Hebrew understanding of Sabbath comes from this story in Exodus not the story in Genesis. But why would God do this, why would God force them to take a day of rest?
In Hebrew the word Sabbath means “to stop” more than it does “to rest”. God is commanding the Israelites to stop for a day and marvel at God’s provision. Nancy deClaisse-Walford says, “In the wilderness, God forged a relationship with the people that called them to trust God to provide for their every need, not just for today, but for tomorrow as well….Stopping has to do with cessation, with taking time to contemplate our place within the created world. Stopping has to do with reflecting on the good provisions of God in our lives.” Stop! And think it over. All of us have complaints, all of us have if onlys, all of us grumble that God is not being fair. In our prayers of intercession we often ask God for help- so sometimes those complaints are worth expressing. But not all the time. We too need to take Sabbath. Need to stop and think about the blessings that surround us. Need to see God’s creative and redemptive power which we have both witnessed and experienced.
Within our Gospel lesson I imagine that if only the first workers had known that they would make the same amount of money as the workers who started at the end of the day then they would have chosen the second option. However, the point of the story is not that the landowner tricked the labourers- he did no such thing- the point is that God gives blessings to all not for equal work but for equal opportunity.
Stop and think it over. Ask, what is it that I can be truly thankful for? Take the time to realize God in our midst in a variety of ways. Often our Sunday services are designed to be that moment of gratitude and reflection but I know all too well that a lot of us have other things on our mind. Perhaps you’re busy planning an upcoming event, perhaps your helping in the kitchen, perhaps your looking after our Sunday School, perhaps you are thinking about something that was said or something that you need to ask of someone else. I know that while this service is to be a moment when we can stop and think about God that sometimes there are way too many things going on. So, I would suggest we stop not just for an hour on Sunday morning, because that was not the purpose of Sunday services but rather take time during your week to stop. Breathe deep the blessings and give thanks. There is lots of time to complain about this and that or to say, “if only” but make sure to carve out time to also say, “Thank you and Amen.”