This week I offer Fr Ted’s and my reflections on Sunday’s reading from Exodus (16:2-15) together with some of your thoughts gathered during our interactive sermon at both Sunday services. Earlier this month, parishioners received a postcard that asked you to be reflecting on how you are fed by God at St John’s.

TED+: I’ve often wondered why God helped the Israelites escape from Egypt only to have them wonder in the desert for 40 years.  In Egypt they suffered the indignities of slavery.  In the desert they were free but lacked a steady and ample supply of water and food, the basic necessities of life.  What was it about the desert that was necessary for them to experience?

The Jews were sorely tested during their time of wandering.  Deserts, speaking literally and metaphorically, have a habit of doing that to us. Sometimes it’s when our normal lives are disrupted, when we grieve the loss of everything that we are accustomed to receiving, that we have the greatest opportunity to change, to grow and to transform our lives.  We don’t usually get everything we want.  But I believe that God feeds us what we need if we are open to accepting it.  

SUSAN+:        And God feeds us so that we might learn to trust that God is, and that God is good. It is a lesson that takes many of us a lifetime (or forty years) to learn. The Israelites thought they were going to die at the edge of the Red Sea. But God parted it and then closed it on their pursuers. A few days later they thought they were dying of thirst, so God led Moses to strike a rock and produce water. A month or so after that, they dreamed of the meat and bread they'd had in Egypt and were sure they were dying of hunger. So God made quail and manna rain down on their camp.

Millennia later, it's clear to us that the Israelites were slow learners. And yet had we been wandering in the desert with them perhaps we might be acting the same way. I think God is always feeding us, but does so in ways we don't expect, or that aren't according to our timetable.

[Then we asked the congregation these questions: How does God feed you at St John’s? Who or what ministry at St John’s helps feed you? What is it that keeps you coming back to church each week? How does what you experience at St John’s inspire and equip you to go out and feed others in Christ’s name? We neglected to arrange ahead of time for a few people to break the ice by raising their hands and responding. We trusted that the Spirit would inspire people, and the Spirit did not let us down! You had much to say, and I may not have captured it all, but offer a summary of what we heard you say:]

+ St John’s is my family, my home away from home; the people here are my community and family.

+ I am accepted here no matter where I am on my spiritual journey; no one judges or criticizes me for my doubts.

+ At St John’s I have a powerful sense of coming home after having wandered in a spiritual wilderness.

+ I am recharged here, and strengthened for being a Christian in the week to come.

+ The homilies here are not just regurgitations of Scripture—they offer me food on Sunday and during the week as I think about what has been said; they comfort me and they also challenge me to be a better Christian.

+ I don’t have a great deal of time at this stage in my life to be heavily involved in the church and so I “lightly touch” several ministries. Even so, my small contributions of time are valued here and I feel like I am giving back.

+ St John’s is a solid touchstone in a shifting and uncertain world.

+ St John’s is a place to come and be challenged.

+ I feel loved here.

+ I love that everyone is welcome to receive Communion here.

+ I’m fed by singing in choir and being part of a music program that is renowned.

+ I’m fed by all the incredibly beautiful music offered here. Some of the pieces I’ve heard at Choral Compline will stay with me forever.

+ This is the first church where my family and I felt accepted for who we are.

+ I appreciate the liturgy that connects me to Christians from hundreds of years ago.

+ On my own I might not know where or how to begin to take a stand on social justice issues. But at St John’s my voice joins those of others and I feel like I have a chance to make a difference in the world.

+ When we raise money for victims of disaster or for social service non-profits I feel part of something larger.

+ I am fed by all the opportunities for contemplation here, and I think that all that prayer creates a climate here so that everyone can come and be fed.

+ Through my participation in the DOK (Daughters of the King) I am fed by praying in confidence for the needs and concerns of anyone who asks to be held in prayer.

+ I am fed by the Wednesday night Bible study for parents; it gives me time to reflect on the Gospel, and through my time there I’ve grown into a more adult relationship with God.

+ Children’s Choristers allows my daughter to practice evangelizing her best friend by sharing music with her.

+ Clergy have met with me and helped me face my fears about parenting and were present with me in the hospital when our newborn was ill.

+ In my life I have witnessed the power at work when a community prays for someone, and I see that power at work at St John’s.

 A couple of people submitted their thoughts on paper or by email, and it’s a good reminder that not everyone wishes to share their thoughts by standing up in church and speaking. If you’d prefer to share your answers to the “how am I fed” questions by writing, please do so! From now until late November, we’ll be offering you an opportunity to share how you are fed by God at St John’s: simply pick up a paper fish (since fish are how Jesus often fed people) in the Narthex and write your answer. There will be a temporary art installation in church—a fishing net on the east and west walls with hangers on which you can place your fish. By the end of our stewardship season it will be a full and rich visual reminder of the many ways St John’s feeds us all. And thanks be to God and the power of the Holy Spirit for that!