I’ve never done this. This is my sermon for today. It’s short because we have other things going on. 

The Divine Jack-in-the-Box

Exodus 17:1-7

I have been conditioned to rarely say “I’m thirsty” around my dad. Unless of course I want to be annoyed by having my needs minimized with a joke. At least, that’s how I’ve felt since the first time he repeatedly said “I’m Friday” after my whiny declaration of being parched. It was so frustrating to hear that dismissing phrase that occasionally continued on to “Come over Saturday and we’ll have a Sunday with Monday and Tuesday blah blah blah.” I would think, My thirst is the most important thing in the world to me right now, and you’re making a joke out of it! This is no laughing matter. I’m your son, for crying out loud! (also one of my dad’s favorite phrases)

Not to minimize the Israelites need for drinkable water, as their thirst actually was the most important thing in the world to them. I’ve never been to the Sinai desert, but I’ve heard that it’s as dry as sin. I don’t think it would have been wise or helpful for Moses to respond to God’s children when they said, “Hey pal, we’re dying from thirst,” with “I’m Friday! Hehehehe, gotcha!” However, thinking of this situation with this light-hearted joke in mind puts this need for physical nourishment in the midst of the wilderness into perspective. God has brought the Israelites to this place from slavery in Egypt. God has met every need they’ve had up to this point. Just two chapters ago he met their need for water, and last chapter he met their need for food. Oh, and with this same rod of Moses, God met their need in parting the Red Sea. Although this is a trying time full of unknowns, God has taken care of them. Doesn’t it just seem silly that they would still complain about anything?

Actually, what the Israelites were doing was not just complaining. The word translated “complain” here is a legal term meaning accuse or charge. They were not only complaining that they had no water, they were accusing Moses of being the reason they had no water. And, of course, as God’s representative to the people, Moses says they are actually accusing God. This is no small accusation on either end. It’s a serious thing to say that God or God’s appointed leader is not taking care of his people, and it’s also serious to call the people out on this. This is no laughing matter. Oh, but c’mon! The same thing keeps happening. It seems kind of silly and laughable after awhile, right?

What’s remarkable is that without batting an eye, God provides their need. I don’t think he’s doing this because of their faith, but because of their lack of faith. I don’t think he’s doing this because they need to see him present in some empirical way, I think there is a theological significance behind it all. In verse 6 the place of the rock is named Horeb. Horeb is the same as Sinai. Remember what is special about Sinai? That’s where God gives the law to Moses. There is a parallel here. In a couple of chapters, God is going to give the Israelites the law to live by. He is going to provide them with what they need to have life. After all, “humans do not live by bread (or water) alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” On Wednesday nights we’ve spoken a great deal of the law providing a structure for creation and life in Israelite society. Purity and godliness equals order and life. If God’s law is followed, the Israelites will always be God’s people and they will last forever. The same is true for us now. If we trust God and obey his law it will go well with us and we will live long on the earth (collectively, not individually). If we do not take care of one another and creation, both can and do destroy us. Our lack of care for creation is evident all around, but God’s use of creation in this story shows us his sovereignty over the entire universe.

God does provide for the Israelites, regardless of their lack of respect, patience, and faith. But he doesn’t provide because of this, he provides in spite of this. He demonstrates his graciousness in this act. He demonstrates the Israelites dependence on him for everything. He demonstrates his deeper understanding about necessities and attempts to teach the Israelites a lesson about this. In our community, it seems silly to worry about water, food, clothing, and shelter. In the grand scheme of things, to stress about food is silly and laughable. Although I don’t lack water, or any physical nourishment, my struggle is similar to Israel’s.

I desire to see God. No, I desire to see God on my terms. When I need some water, I say, “Hey God, do a magic trick for me and make water come out of this rock.” When I have some ailment, I say, “Hey God, take away my headache and I’ll know you’re there.” When my brother is in pain and the doctors can’t figure out what’s wrong, I say, “Hey God, if you’re worth your weight in salt you’ll heal Jason.” If I concentrate real hard, or if I just have the right amount of faith, God will do a backflip for me. I don’t need to get insurance because I trust in God to take care of me. This is to put God to the same test that the Israelites did. If God is really there and if God is really powerful and if I really have faith, God will do whatever I ask! Isn’t that what Jesus said? No, we must understand that God moves in mysterious ways and that we will never be able to pin him down. Just because my faith is weak and I want to see God working in some way that I can experience with my five senses, that does not mean he is going to. His ways are not mine.

Eventually, I began to say “I’m thirsty” to my dad for the fun of it just to get him to say his rote response. If he didn’t say it immediately, I would say it for him in a sarcastic tone. I’ve always been able to count on my father to be aggravating or silly when I wanted him to be. So, when we tell God, “I’m thirsty,” it’s as if we are saying it expecting God to answer with a smart aleck response or with actual water—we expect a response either way. We expect God to reveal himself to us and show us he is present in our distress—whether we are actually distressed or not. When we are thirsty for fulfillment, physical healing, hope, joy, entertainment, or an empirical evidence for his existence, we might slyly say to him, “I’m thirsty” and expect a response that fulfills our desire. Thinking of God in this way is like thinking of him as a jack-in-the-box. We crank it around and around knowing that at any moment the jack is going to pop out of his box and “surprise” us. Instead, God is like a broken jack-in-the-box; it doesn’t matter how many times you crank it, he never pops out. What matters more than anything is, whether the jack ever pops up in the expected way or not, we know the jack is in the box.

Lord God, help us in our human condition. Give us water, give us your word, give us sustenance. Give us strength. Give us comfort in not knowing everything. Give us hope. Help us to trust and obey. Help us to truly have faith and not attempt to use you for our own desires. Use us for yours. Lord, have mercy on us, for we are sinners. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen. 

A coming-to-age experience for me as a Christian, but also as a preacher, has been the realization and acceptance of mystery in Scripture. There is great mystery in the Lord’s Supper that cannot be explained with words. The bread being Christ’s body and the wine, his blood. How does that work? The Spirit moving through our beings once we are baptized into the Kingdom of God. What’s that about? Well, this passage (John 1:1-18) contains another great mystery that I must shy away from attempting to explain. I cannot say how the Word becomes flesh or even what that looks like. The beauty of it is that I don’t have to. Now, I know that might sound odd coming from a Church of Christ preacher, but it is a reality. There is a great deal that could be said about this passage, but there is a greater deal that cannot be said. As a friend has eloquently put it in the past, “We must accept the mystery and live within it.” Some believe that the ultimate understanding or realization of God culminates in silence.

Inspired by Luke 2:1-20

Augustus was hailed as a god, a savior, a peacemaker, and sovereign. The nativity story is a blatant retort to those claims. Instead of being born in a beautiful palace, the Savior of the world is born in a room where animals sleep. Instead of succeeding the emperor, he is the son of a carpenter. Instead of bringing peace through war and oppression, he brings peace through lifestyle and as the ultimate source of it. Instead of announcing the amiability of his rule while not really being nice at all, he not only loves, but also likes everybody. Instead of ruling a kingdom that excludes other nations, he establishes the Kingdom that is not of this world, yet is in and includes the entire world—God, humans, and all creation.