Exodus

16:2-15; Matthew 20:1-16 Still Hungry 9 24 17

Living with limitations is a pain in the neck. Whether the limit is self-
imposed like keeping up with specific dietary guidelines, or whether the limit is
given to you, like the amount of a social security check, the constrictions lead to
dissatisfaction. We joked last week that there was a member of the church who
saw the sign Three Cups of Coffee and thought it was an intake limit on coffee
after church, rather than our get.to.know.you program of meeting in small groups
over a cup of coffee. As soon as someone says, you only get three cups, even
though you may only ever drink one or two cups, it feels like an injustice. Why
cant I have more than three?
The laborers in Jesus parable felt unjustly treated. One hour of work was
rewarded the same as 8 hours. It didnt matter that there was a wage agreement
at the beginning of the day as soon as the limit changed, it seemed unjust. The
Israelites in the wilderness as well, complained that they had food for each day
and water for each day, nothing more. It seemed unfair that the sojourners were
provided for in the way that God wanted to give, not in the way they wanted to
receive. Despite the provisions in both stories, the people grumbled about
injustice. I suggest that on some level, they were still hungry for more.
The Biblical accounts of grumbling make us wonder whether any change in
life is simply an occasion for looking for injustice. How is it that adding bike lanes
to Evanston streets elicits the response: its not fair!? When Wrigley Field
installed lights for night games (its been 30 years now), it was called an affront to
Chicagoans everywhere! Why, when the state recently considered a hike in
minimum wage, did it translate to being an injustice to those who already make
more than minimum wage? At the end of summer, when children need to go to
bed earlier, the change is met with tantrums and tears: Unfair!
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 The truth is, that the book of Exodus and the parables of Jesus were and
are collections of instructions on how to deal with living together as human
beings, which inevitably means they are instructions on how to deal with change.
The changes we experience in our everyday lives, and the changes that come
once in a lifetime, all have correlations in the pages of our sacred scripture. Of
course, we cant flip open the Bible to a random page and expect to find an
answer, but we can become more familiar with the flow and overall message
embodied in other people of God, and gain insight into coping with the changes
we experience now.
Consider a recent change in your life right now it can be a change that is
slight, or one that encompasses the gamut of life and death. Think about just one
change // Now consider how it is that you may have interpreted this change as
being unfair. Is there some injustice tied to this change? //
Im going to ask the question in a different way. Thinking of the same
change, consider the question: How has this change awakened in you a hunger
for more? How has this change awakened in you a hunger for more? The
Israelites in the desert were irritated at the desert food supply of quail and
manna. At first, their hunger for more led them to have distorted memories of
the past, glorifying what was a truly oppressive and unjust situation. As their time
in the desert extended, Moses helped redirect them to hunger for the future: an
impending promised land where there would be freedom and food. They were
no longer distorting the past, nor grumbling about the injustice of the present,
but instead they identified a different kind of hunger for more that allowed them
to move forward into the future.

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 As we begin our annual stewardship campaign, we are reminded of changes
that have occurred and are occuring in the life of our church. Looking at the
trajectory across 150 years, the activities, leadership, education program, music,
attendance, the buildings and the ministries have all changed. At first, like the
Israelites, perhaps we see the changes as unfair. It hasnt gone the way we
thought it would, or memories of the past become distorted. We find we are still
hungry for something else. When we engage in a season of stewardship, we are
being led, like Moses led the Israelites, to focus our hunger on the future of God.
When we consider the changes and evolutions over so many years of
faithfulness in this community, and then hunger for more we are moving into an
exciting future. We hunger for vibrancy there were 28 children in attendance
on Rally Day. We hunger for meaningful outreach ministries we are hosting
homeless guests in our sanctuary this winter together with other churches. We
hunger for spiritual nurture we are beginning again the Spiritual Enrichment
Group. We hunger to sing a new song to God we hear and sing new musical
settings every week.
Like the owner of the vinyard giving generously to those who worked long
or short hours, God interrupts the expectations of what we think we deserve or
want, and provides for our needs. Rev. Tom Steagald, Methodist pastor in North
Carolina, says, God has created the world in such a way that provision and
resources are all around us; therefore we must work together to maximize these
benefits for others. The future we hunger for is already held and blessed by God.
The provision and resources we need to fulfill Gods ministry in this place are all
around us. As we hear the Voices of Giving over the next six weeks and prepare
to make a pledge to the ministries of the church, I invite you to consider how you
are still hungry for Gods future in this place. Amen.
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Exodus 16:2-15 The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron
in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in
the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought
us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger. Then the Lord said to
Moses, I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and
gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction
or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they
gather on other days. So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, In the evening you shall
know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you
shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaining against the Lord. For
what are we, that you complain against us? And Moses said, When the Lordgives you meat to
eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning, because the Lord has heard the
complaining that you utter against himwhat are we? Your complaining is not against us but
against the Lord.Then Moses said to Aaron, Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites,
Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.And as Aaron spoke to the whole
congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of
the Lord appeared in the cloud. The Lord spoke to Moses and said, I have heard the
complaining of the Israelites; say to them, At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning
you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.
In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of
dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was
a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to
one another, What is it? For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, It is the
bread that the Lord has given you to eat.

Matthew 20:1-16 For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the
morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily
wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine oclock, he saw others
standing idle in the marketplace;and he said to them, You also go into the vineyard, and I will
pay you whatever is right. So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three
oclock, he did the same. And about five oclock he went out and found others standing around;
and he said to them, Why are you standing here idle all day? They said to him, Because no
one has hired us. He said to them, You also go into the vineyard. When evening came, the
owner of the vineyard said to his manager, Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning
with the last and then going to the first. When those hired about five oclock came, each of
them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive
more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they
grumbled against the landowner, saying, These last worked only one hour, and you have made
them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat. But he replied
to one of them, Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily
wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to
you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious
because I am generous? So the last will be first, and the first will be last.


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