Homily for Vespers on the Wednesday of the Fifth Sunday in Lent

 


Homily for Vespers on Wednesday of the fifth Sunday in Lent – Exodus 16:1-18, 35

O Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my rock and my redeemer. Amen. 

Are you better off? This is a question that a person seeking elected office might ask of constituents if he or she is challenging the incumbent. Are you better off now than you were before my adversary took office? If you do not have an answer, the person asking the question will suggest some answers for you that puts the one currently holding office in the worst possible light. Such is the brutal way of contemporary American politics. 

I can hear a similar question being asked by the former slaves. Are we better off since Moses led us into the desert? Their immediate answer is no. A few weeks have passed. They have experienced some discomfort. Their memory is playing tricks on them. They remember eating meat and bread, but do not remember the harsh work, the endless days, the beatings, the lack of freedom of voice, vote, and movement. They made an idol of the past. They are practicing selective memory. 

They are indeed better off. God loves them. God hears their complaints and does something positive about it. No one much cared to listen to their complaints or do anything about them when they were slaves. In fact, complaints might get them far worse treatment or killed. You can always get another slave. A slave’s life is not worth a thing.

They are indeed better off. God values their life. Even when they sin by making an idol, God values their life. In the Lord their God, they encounter grace. God exhibits his grace by listening and acting. He miraculously provides daily bread and meat. 

Israel receive Good News from the Lord their God. The Lord provides. The Lord protects. The Lord encourages faith and obedience. The Lord prepares them for the promised Land. 

Israel is preserved and brought into the Promised Land to be a witness to the nations. From Israel, the Christ comes forth. 

Are we better off because we know Jesus Christ? Are we better off because the Holy Spirit created faith within us to receive Jesus as our Christ? We are indeed better off. We are better off because the Son of God became incarnate and suffered and died on the cross to receive the punishment we deserve. We have the assurance of the forgiveness of our sins, salvation, and eternal life with God. We have peace with God. We are better off because Christ is for us. 

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen. 


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