Proper 20 (A) + Lean on God + 9.24.17

M. Campbell-Langdell

All Santos, Oxnard

(Exodus 16:2–15; Ps. 105:1–6, 37–45; Philippians 1:21–30; Matthew 20:1–16)

Draw near to the Lord (Exodus 16:9b).

You may have heard Alene, Genesis, and I adopted a dog this spring. In fact, the dog, Zip, belongs to Genesis, but the reality is that God has placed her in all of our lives. And we have had to learn so much! Alene and I are more accustomed to having cats, at least in our adult lives. So having a dog has forced us to learn a lot! But she does this one very sweet thing when she wants to feel more secure. She comes up to us and begins to sort of lean against our legs. Is like a small hug. And it is very touching.

So maybe this is why this verse from the book of Exodus hit me today, in this phrase from Moses: "Draw near to the Lord."

I do not know about you, but I've felt much need to lean on the Lord in recent weeks. It almost seems that each new day upon awaking, we hear of another hurricane or another earthquake. We are in fear for parishioners’ family members, or perhaps just the people affected, even we may not know them, simply because they are in need. And we want to respond. But we also want these turbulent events to stop. At least I do!

The Israelite people who spoke to Moses in the desert wanted the turbulent events to stop also. He had brought them from slavery in Egypt, but now they feared that they were to die in the desert of hunger. And it is not surprising they felt this way. There was not much obvious food to eat in the desert. And the people were riled up!

So God said to Moses - I'm going to provide food. No more than they need; no less. They can’t take too much of it. But yes, I'm going to provide food. God assured them that God would provide. And God did. Mana or bread of heaven and meat in the form of birds.
"Draw near to the Lord." Do you lean on God? Can you say that you feel the support that God gives us? Will you lean on God? I think that in these turbulent times, we have to learn again to lean on God, just as does our dogJ.

This is for the good of our mental health. Because I heard on the radio this week that when we hear of something that happens as a hurricane or an earthquake in the news and see photos, because historically never received the news so quickly, our brains began to feel that these events are happening close to us. And we can experience trauma, just by watching or reading the news. And what we know about trauma? We know that it immobilizes us. We feel we cannot do anything in the face of suffering.

But that’s when we need to lean on God, knowing that God can and will hold the pain of the world for us. Jesus already did that on the cross. So we can say to God, I am leaning on you! In CS Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, there is a scene in which Lucy feels Aslan’s strength supporting her: “Lucy buried her head in his mane to hide from his face, But there must have been magic in his mane. She could feel lion-strength going into her. Quite suddenly she sat up.”[1]  We can lean on God like the children of Narnia leaned on Aslan and felt strength from his furry side. That we may feel the animal force of God, and be restored.

In this passage from Prince Caspian, Lucy is invigorated by Aslan’s strength. It continues:

“Quite suddenly she sat up.
    ‘I’m sorry, Aslan,’ she said. ‘I’m ready now.’
    ‘Now you are a lioness,’ said Aslan. ‘And now all Narnia will be renewed. But come. We have no time to lose.’”[2]

We, too, when we lean on God in prayer, can draw strength. And only then we will truly be able to move; to take action in the world. When we are filled with God’s strength, we are freed to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this world. We are God’s Lions. Just this week I put clothes and blankets in our parishioners’ car, things destined for Mexico and the victims of the earthquake in the capital city of Mexico. Just the other week, someone brought us clothing, members of MICOP, the Mixteco organization. I don't know why. They just showed up with clothing! And I said “Yes, put it in the nursery.” We didn’t yet know about this need, but here we were this week, giving clothing to the earthquake victims the next day. Just as we had already given clothing donations in response to needs in Texas. And we gave money to the efforts of Episcopal Relief and Development in response to the Hurricane in Texas, and we will do so again for needs in Mexico, Puerto Rico, and any place where we can be the hands and feet of Christ.

We are also supporting those detained for immigration issues and strive to support our young people who were born elsewhere but want a better life in our country. This week, our church was the host site of a Legal Aid clinic for those working with families at risk of deportation, to help them provide for their children.
But we can do this only with God’s support. Any other way will overwhelm us with needs beyond our control. So, today, draw close to God, and feel supported by God’s strength and let the heat of God’s care leave you refreshed to do Christ’s work in the world. Because as St. Teresa of Avila famously said, Christ has no feet or hands in the world, but ours. Amen. 

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[1] C.S. Lewis, Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia The Chronicles of Narnia (1951, this edition Harper Collins, 1994) 142-143. 

[2] Ibid.