Gather What You Need

There is an ancient Hebrew story from the time of Exodus, where God’s people tell of their great struggles in the wilderness, wandering as they return from captivity in Egypt.

The people are tired, worn out, hot, and hungry.

And what do you do when you’re tired, worn out, hot, and hungry? Well…most of us start to complain.

And so the story goes that the people begin to grumble and complain.

“You know, at least in Egypt we had something to eat.”

“We could eat our fill in the house of the slave masters we served.”

Isn’t it interesting how, once we’re a little bit removed from a bad situation, we are often quick to remember its benefits? Stockholm Syndrome, perhaps? Sure, they whipped us and took our children away from us and forced us to work unceasingly…but at least we had meat to eat.

Of course, the ancient and the present are not all that far apart.

This wisdom holds true for us today. The grass is always greener…

So God and Moses talk and God tells Moses that God will make bread rain from the heavens each day, and the people will be able to gather and have their fill. Specifically…enough for that day.

That’s important, enough for that day.

Ok, bread from heaven. With the qualifier — gather what you need.

And God tells Moses — “I will test them, whether they follow my instruction or not.” Also important.

In keeping with the commandment of not working on the Sabbath, God also adds an addendum to the plan and instructs the people to gather two day’s worth on the sixth day, so they can have enough for the Sabbath.

The Moses returns to the people, after his chat with the Unseen Divine, and says, look, God has heard your complaining and God has a plan.

As a parent of a 10 year old, I feel like this is a familiar scenario. The kid complains or their hangry or whatnot. The adults chat. A solution is offered. Not necessarily what the kid was envisioning, but a solution nonetheless. No one is 100% satisfied with the arrangement, but at least the grumbling ceases…for a bit.

Moses relay’s the news: “Ok, since you all have whined a lot, we’ve got a plan. God will provide bread each evening. And in the morning, you will be allowed to go out and gather. And, just to add a little something sweet to the offering, God is also going to provide meat for us in the evenings. This is the plan. Don’t blame us for the solution (Moses and Aaron) — this is God’s call.”

So, how does this all play out…

First, God sends quail in the evening. Then God sends fine, dust-like, flaky dew, fine as frost, in the morning. I picture almost something like those crunchy patches of snow and ice that linger on the ground after a few days of snow melt. But lots of it.

Manna — simply translated as “what is it?” — falls from the sky.

And the people begin to collect it and have their fill.

God’s people cry out and God provides.

And this next piece is central to what we must learn from this text.

God instructs, through Moses, that the people must “Gather as much of it (the manna) as each of you needs. An omer, a small pile, per person. Provide for everyone in your tent.

(Just a quick aside, in all our current struggles around immigrants and welcoming strangers and who’s in and who’s out — just note how God determines who is qualified to receive these gifts…everyone provides for everyone in their own tent.

No qualifications. No screening for identification. No concern for insider/outsider status. Just gather what you need. )

Finally, don’t leave any of it behind on the ground for the next day. And don’t leave any uneaten for the next day. Gather and use what you need. Period.

And so the people gathered what they needed. If they kept it overnight for the next day, it would rot.

I bought some strawberries at the farmer’s market yesterday. They were amazing! But we had to eat them all yesterday, because they were really ripe and would have spoiled. I had been tempted to buy a whole flat, but instead stuck with just a small carton. Gather what you need and use it.

And, of course, as God promised, when they gathered the double portion for the sixth day in preparation for the sabbath, the remainder stayed edible over the night. So the people could rest.

And this ancient story is remembered still today, as the people were provided for by God in the wilderness. Through generations, as we hear in the Nehemiah text, this is remembered as God’s way of faithfulness to God’s people. Gather what you need, use it well, and be thankful.

Ok, I want to take us a few places as we explore this text.

First, we have to simply sit with this good instruction, “gather what you need.”

As you know, my family is in a season of hardship and uncertainty. In this, we are already being surrounded by loving support, offers of help, even financial gifts that will help us pay off medical bills and bridge a time of lower income during treatment. We are in a season where we need to listen to this instruction, “gather what you need,” and take it to heart.

Bolster yourselves. Gather what is necessary.

In times of crisis, it is easy to get overwhelmed and think nothing will ever be enough. Of course, this is a time when people overindulge, overdose even, trying to get what they need. We long to be filled and in our fear, aren’t we all quick to grab and hoard it in the case of a even greater emergency down the road.

And we can’t be too judgmental of this. Impoverishment, hunger, fear, uncertainty — all of these lead us to want to protect what’s ours.

This past week, I’ve had to be really aware of my attitude and words, as I am a bit on edge. I want to protect what’s mine and take what I need. I get a little snappy when that gets threatened, my hackles up, even if it’s just that the pharmacy is taking too long to gather meds…those are mine!! Give them to me…it’s pretty close to the surface at times, mind you.

But here’s the wisdom — God provides enough for EVERYONE. EVERYONE. So, today, I take what I need.

And today, I need a bit. I need some help. I’m not good at asking for help, but in the past couple of weeks, I’ve found myself relinquishing that control and pride and learning that I need to just say “I need support.” I need some manna. Not all the manna. But I recognize I need some for myself and my tent right now.

Have you been in a season when you have known you needed to provide food for your tent? Have you heard God speak — gather what you need? I think many of us struggle to accept this generosity. Instead, we gather just a little. Or, we gather more than we need out of protection.

The ancients understood our challenges better than we do, I think.

Fast forward to our community and our collective needs today. The instruction is to take from what is offered what you need. Do you need support? Then let’s get it to you. Do you need food or shelter? Let’s help you find it. Ask for what you need. Gather it with the help of others. Be filled.

And of course, to those who need less, take less. To those who need more, take more.

But we get this mixed up, really quickly.

Some of us think “oh, I don’t need…so we never receive.”

Some of us think, “I need it all…so our wealth or possessions spoil as they sit.”

Some of us think, “Those people took too much…but never see the hungry mouths they’re trying to feed.”

Some of us think, “If I can just skim a little more off the top for later…but then we watch as it rots.”

I picked this and some of the other texts we’ll be preaching on this Summer, because I want to look directly at how God instructs God’s people to take care of their possessions and, in particular, how God instructs us to deal with our wealth and goods.

It’s very easy, in our society, to want to help with collective action or belong to communities of support, but not fully engage ourselves or fully offer what we have. We like what’s going on here, but we’re hedging our bets and keeping a little more stockpiled away safely.

And on the other side of that same coin, we are also very cautious to step into belonging, community, and mutual investment. We fear getting hurt. We fear that the promise of enough manna for everyone is too good to be true. What’s the catch?

Sadly, our world positions us this way. Protect what’s yours. Gather more than you need.

I want to move into some really practical things that this text teaches us.

Sure, we are not wandering in the wilderness. Most of us have very secure homes we live in, resources enough to get by or to thrive. We have medical insurance for catastrophic things like cancer or car accidents. We have a “social safety net” which, depending on politics and the swing of the compassion pendulum, offers some support to those in more dire circumstances.

So maybe we don’t think about this much.

One of the things we learned while in Europe last summer was the joy of visiting a local market to buy just the food we’d need for dinner that day. I did something similar by visiting the Farmer’s market yesterday, buying just strawberries and kale. Other places, this hoarding, stockpiling mentality is less prevalent.

But the practical truth being taught by this ancient story is that God promises to give us all what we need.

If God gives us what we need, we also have to be willing to do some things in return.

If we need it, we must gather and receive the gifts from God. My family needs some support right now. I’m feeling the need to take up a little more space and ask for a little more help than normal right now.

If we have what we need, we must learn to gather just enough for today and trust that we have enough. It’s really easy to get into a habit of always going back for seconds, especially if the meal is good. It’s easy to form a habit of gathering and displaying our possessions. We must learn to be generous with our abundance, giving away what is excess.

If we’re not sure where we fall, then the ancient wisdom here is to look inwardly. Ask yourself, do I have enough? Do I hunger still? If I gathered a little more, asked for a little help, would that be ok? Have I learned what it means to be hungry? Have I learned what it means to be full? Can I tell how I feel right now?

Of course, I have to make it clear that there is a curse involved in this teaching.

The curse is this — for those who have gathered more than they need and continue to hold on to it, while others struggle, woe be upon them.

Of course, we see this plainly in our world today. A prominent billionaire is in the news this week for his excessive wedding in Italy. Millions of dollars spent, publicly, while also very publicly many of the people who work in this person’s warehouses eek by.

You see, this ancient story has immense economic implications.

Hoarding a disproportionate amount of wealth will rot your soul. Our world has a billionaire problem.

Of course, this isn’t the truth for all people who have wealth. And of course, we know there are plenty to would hoard because of the exact opposite reasons, poverty and fear. The curse is the same — if we hold on to our assets beyond what makes them useful to our health and the flourishing of our world, then they will begin to rot.

I believe we are in a season of time when we need to deeply examine what this wisdom means for us. We need to decide — what do we need? What can we offer? What is enough?

As I’ve said, I’m in a season where I need to gather a little more to get by.

Perhaps you are too. Let’s go gather together, let’s help each other, let’s see what ways we can mutually flourish by sharing what we do have.

Some of us are in seasons of greater need — let’s get together, figure out a way forward. I know there are hurting, sick, struggling people in this community. Let’s keep helping each other.

And let us beware of the curse of holding on to too much. As a congregation, let’s use the wealth and assets we have to support our life together here. It’s very tempting to wait until a greater emergency or crisis hits. But when will that be? When will the crisis be big enough? When will we use what we have gathered? Or has it already begun to waste and rot, squandered because we hoped it would last until tomorrow?

May we gather what we need and give what we are able.

Amen.