Abundance: What Is It?

Maybe it’s the change in the air, or perhaps these chilly almost-fall mornings. Whatever, I find myself more thankful than usual for a nice place to live and a warm bed, sheltered from the elements and safe in the wilderness. Scriptures for this weekend deal with the richness of life in God and the warmth which comes from knowing that there’s One who takes care of our needs and provides just compensation for our response of service.

The story from the Hebrew Bible comes from Exodus 16, where the habiru/desert wanderers were wondering what was going to happen to them away from the security of slavery in Egypt. It says that they “murmered” against Moses & Aaron. YHWH heard them, and sent a flock of quail for their immediate relief, and the next morning showed them that the “fine, flake-like thing” was good as/better than bread. This stuff appeared EVERY morning until they reached the Promised Land! They called it MAN HU: “What Is It?”

Philippians 1:21-30 acknowledges that Paul himself is aware of his precarious situation at the caprice of the Roman Emperor. Is it better to keep living as long as I can, and preach & teach; or should I just accept death and go home to be with the Lord? Yet God has called him to deal with the “wilderness” and forego comfort for his friends. Paul exhorts his readers (and himself) to keep on living faithfully even in this imperfect world: “For [God] has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well.” Can we identify the abundance in our daily deserts?

Ah, then one of Jesus’ amazing parables is reported in Matthew 20:1-16–we’re still building community here. You may be angry to remember the story of the vineyard owner who needed to harvest TODAY, and so he visited the public square labor pool early in the morning; and then at later times during the day. He told all his hires that they would get “the usual wages” (a denarius)–but they got sore when even the late workers got the same thing. Does God reward late-comers? Yes, whatever the hour. Does God restrict the early-birds? No, for “the heat of the day” brings its own reward of productivity for a good cause. Is life worth more than a denarius? Do we not all get our daily manna, just the abundance we need?

So, shall I leave all “MY” stuff and join the Bruderhof, holding all things in common? Can’t do it; I like my elitism of two cars and a pension. Will those oppressed by poverty & politics be given their daily bread, or will I have to yield my come-early advantage to a more-equitable wealth? Abundance: what IS it? Is God’s ethic always so complicated??

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

My encounters with lessons assigned to the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this space on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com