This morning, we are going to hear a Story whose gist is something all of us can relate to at some level. It’s a Story about longing for that which we don’t have but have this mindset that if we did have it, our lives would be so much better.
Today we are going back to Egypt and resuming the Story we looked at last week. At this point, Jacob has died as well as Joseph and all of his brothers. It’s an entirely new generation of Hebrews and it’s also a time when the Pharaoh who was so amenable to Joseph and his descendants is also dead. A new Pharaoh is in charge and is making life miserable for the people of God. God has appointed Moses to lead the people out of Egypt and today we are picking up on their journey in Exodus 16.2-15. Open your Bibles to the text and let’s join the Story.
Exodus 16:2-15
2 The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 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 pots of meat and ate our fill of bread, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
Let’s pause a moment right here. Hear that whining line one more time: If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in Egypt when we sat by the pots of meat and ate our fill of bread. Memory and time combined with a little stress have a way of tempering things, don’t they? The Story of Exodus in chapter one immediately begins by outlining the plight the Hebrews were facing. This new Pharaoh set taskmasters over them and put them into forced labor. We read in Exodus 1 how the Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites and made their lives bitter with hard service. It seems the Israelites have forgotten some things. They were longing for a time that never really existed. “Oh, we had it so much better back in the good old days when we were getting beaten by Pharaoh’s taskmasters! Back to the scripture:
4 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. 5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days.” 6 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, 7 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?” 8 And Moses said, “When the Lord gives 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 him—what are we? Your complaining is not against us but against the Lord.”
9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites: ‘Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.’” 10 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. 11 The Lord spoke to Moses, 12 “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.’”
13 In the evening quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 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. 15 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.[1]
God provided the people with what they needed; they may have pined for the fleshpots, but they got manna and quail instead. The Hebrews were instructed to take as much as they needed for each day but no more. Our Story this morning is such a wonderful Story of God’s provision and Providential care in spite of the grumbling congregation. But that’s not what we are going to primarily focus on today. I want us to linger with the human tendency to nostalgically long for “the good old days” when times get difficult or stressed.
People have this tendency to make things better off than they used to be based on a cognitive need we have to find and feel safe when life around us is swirly and chaotic. It’s called rosy retrospection when we view the past more favorably than the future. For Americans today locked in our national congressional, executive, and judicial dysfunction, we fondly remember a Rockwellian time when his pictures showed scenes of dad sitting in a chair, smoking a pipe while reading the newspaper while the kids are quietly playing with toys on the floor next to the sleeping dog as snow is gently falling outside and mom peeks out of the kitchen saying, “Dinners ready!” Those were the days, right? Sadly, those days are rosy retrospective fantasies locked in our national sense of nostalgia because those were the days of two World Wars, the Korean and Vietnam wars, The Cold War, segregation, lynchings, and women fighting for their rights to vote.
Over the years in ministry, I have heard the pining for the fleshpots of Egypt in the Church, too! I call it Fleshpotting. Fleshpotting in a church sounds like this:
I remember when our youth choir had 75 kids in it!
In my old church, we would do this differently.
I remember when we had a huge staff and budget.
We have never done this that way before.
It’s always been like this so there’s no reason to change it now.
What nostalgic, Fleshpotting comments would you add to the list?
One that I often heard that sparked worship wars in the church was this whole argument about traditional worship versus contemporary worship. One was perceived as good, pure, divine, and true and the other was perceived as loud, not holy, or worshipful, and just flat-out bad. My personal opinion is that the church has had the argument all wrong. It’s not about traditional versus contemporary worship; rather it’s about traditional versus nostalgic worship. The church, like the Hebrews, is too often locked in nostalgia pining for the wrong things. The word contemporary describing worship is a misnomer. For example, First Presbyterian Glens Falls has a contemporary service; we are all in it right this moment! As an adjective, contemporary describes that which is of the present and so for us, our classical worship format is our contemporary, present-moment mode of worshipping. This is why I refer to the dynamic tension as traditional worship versus nostalgic worship.
Singing is a tradition in worship that began with our Jewish ancestry.
Dancing has been a tradition in worship since the time of David when he brought the ark back to Jerusalem.
Instruments in worship are a tradition. For the Jews and early Christians, they used stringed instruments, drums, horns, rattles, singing, chanting, and organs! Well, maybe not the organs.
Speaking, prophesying, or preaching is a tradition.
Reading sacred literature is a tradition as is the offering of prayers.
Religious leaders wearing certain garments is a tradition.
Sacred rituals like sacraments are traditions. But…
The color of the preacher’s robe or choir member’s robe is nostalgic.
Which hymn book is used is nostalgic.
How we take communion whether getting served in the seats, having to come forward, or receiving it by intinction is nostalgic.
Sitting in pews or chairs is a nostalgic issue.
Stained glass or screens in a sanctuary are nostalgic because stained glass was the screen that told the Story of the gospel before there was technology.
Wine or grape juice – nostalgic.
King James, NIV, RSV versions of the Bible – nostalgic.
J.S. Bach or Allison Kraus – nostalgic.
Beloved, nostalgia deals with our perceptions of what makes us feel comfortable and warm. Tradition is that which focuses on glorifying God in the most precious way possible. Lest we forget, let’s remind ourselves who worship is for to begin with.
Is worship for you or me? Nope. Worship is for God alone. Worship is for an audience of One. The primary point of worship is not for you to come and get fed at God’s glorious smorgasbord where you leave all fat and happy feeling good about yourself; the primary point of worship is to make Jesus feel all fat and happy and loved and adored at the end of the hour. If you and I are “fed” it is only because we have worshipped well. It’s because we got out of the way and cultivated the environment for the Holy Spirit to thrive and teach us.
Friends, my official title is pastor for congregational renewal. It’s what I do and have fun doing it. I am an unabashed evangelist who loves to talk about Jesus in ways people can hear and relate to in their life. I am a teaching elder who is passionate about our rich Reformed tradition but really care less about nostalgia. Jesus cannot tolerate American churches whose members grouse amongst each other about the way things used to be because right now there is a world outside those doors that desperately needs him and his life-giving Spirit.
For the record, God gets pretty annoyed with the Hebrews constantly grumbling during the Exodus because when a person grumbles, it is because they are focused on what they didn’t get. When we grumble about what we didn’t get or what we don’t like, our attention is focused on ourselves, and God is ignored. And this my friends, is why we focus on tradition and not nostalgia. Tradition becomes the guardrails that keep our attention on the blessed Triune God.
In the name of the one who is, was, and will ever be. Amen.
© 2023 Patrick H. Wrisley, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, 400 Glen Street, Glens Falls, NY 12801. Sermon manuscripts are available for the edification of members and friends of First Presbyterian Church of Glens Falls, New York, and may not be altered, re-purposed, published or preached without permission. All rights reserved.
[1] New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE). New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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