It took a year to read the Bible, then almost 9 months to read the Apocrypha. Now, I'm going to try to offer reflections on the Narrative Lectionary. But, I won't be posting daily--at least, for a while.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Give Us Water, a Reflection on Exodus 17:1-7

What is life after salvation like? They have been freed from oppression, but they haven't been given perfect.

Who is responsible for our happiness? The people in Exodus turned on Moses. After all, if it hadn't been for him, they would still be back in Egypt--yes, they would have go be building pyramids, but at least they would have had water.

When he is faced with criticism, Moses turned on the Lord. "What am I supposed to do now?"

Moses had not sought the job of leading the people out of captivity and had accepted it rather reluctantly. The Lord had been able to convince him to accept the risks inherent in the task and continues to support him, giving him directions that will get the people past this particular crisis.

We who are descendants of these ancient people will also face crises in our lives. And we may find ourselves reacting in similar ways. We may turn on God or or whoever represents God's message in our lives. We may think that life would have been better if we had not made the effort to follow the path that God laid out for us.

When they turned on Moses, he recognized that that they had lost their trust in the Lord. Moses prayed and was prepared to listen.

In the crisis--of fact and faith, the Lord provides what the people need. The Lord enables Moses to show the people where the water is--and does so with witnesses.

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