Living Together: Cultivate Gratitude

Scripture Passage

Exodus 16:1-12

The whole congregation of the Israelites set out from Elim and came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. 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.”

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.’”

Sermon Script

One verse in today’s passage stands out to me.

The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.

Exodus 16:2

The entire community complained against their leaders. Here, the word ‘complain’ doesn’t mean what we think it means. It’s not like whining about something. But more like accusing someone. So the Israelites were blaming Moses and Aaron for their situation.

The Israelites were in the wilderness. They had just come from an oasis in Elim. Full of springs and palm trees. Now they were on a dry land with nothing to eat or drink. They were hungry and thirsty, frustrated and tired. So much so that they said—

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.

Exodus 16:3

No one was happy. Everyone was angry, disappointed, and furious.

Even though it was the entire community that complained, I don’t think it happened all at once. It probably started with complaints of one or two people. Then others started to join in as well. It quickly grew into the big blame game we see today.

That’s the power our words can have in a community of people. We all complain, of course. We complain in order to vent. We do it to make ourselves feel better. But what we say in the moment – in the presence of others – can instantly snowball into something much bigger. One negative word can feed more negativity in the group. For instance, James compared it to a forest fire—

Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.

James 3:5

Community that complains, blames, and points fingers can never be a community of faith. The people we complain about don’t have to be our leaders. They can also be other people in our community. We can find all kinds of reasons to say negative things.

But here’s the thing – there is NO end to complaining. It’s a bottomless pit. In the end, you don’t feel better. You feel even more unsatisfied. Now you have an unhappy community. Community like that cannot and will not survive. Would you want to be a part of that community? You would want to leave. It will divide and scatter.

To be a healthy and vibrant community of faith, we must learn how to cultivate GRATITUDE. I like to call it, the ‘attitude’ of gratitude. It’s the spiritual practice of giving thanks. Gratitude is the best antidote to complaining. Gratitude frees us from self-centered thinking. It comes from turning our eyes to how God has already blessed us with so much. It comes from seeing the new thing God is doing in our midst, rather than being stuck in our own ideas and expectations. Cultivating gratitude helps us to trust God in every situation.

Last week, we reflected on how we can embrace all people. We do it by acknowledging and appreciating others. We choose to see the positive in someone rather than the negative. What happens then? We become thankful for the people we have around us, no matter how different they might be from us. That’s one way of cultivating gratitude in our life as a community. Complaining multiplies – so does gratitude.

Just because things aren’t the way you want them to be, or things don’t go the way you want them to, don’t resort to complaining about them. Don’t try to blame someone just because it’s convenient. Our complaints can blind us to the good that’s before us. We can become more entitled. Listen to what Moses said to the Israelites—

Your complaining is not against us but against the LORD.

Exodus 16:8

Instead of complaining, wait. Wait and see what God does. Wait for God’s grace to unfold.

God’s grace comes to us in unexpected, surprising forms. For the Israelites, the bread that God promised didn’t come down in loaves. Instead, it came to them as “a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground.”

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.”

Exodus 16:15

It was this unexpected bread (“manna”) that filled their hunger and gave them strength in the wilderness. Through these small yet powerful moments of grace, the Israelites learned how to trust God. They remembered how God provided for their needs in the past. They learned how to live with gratitude instead of complaining.

Living and journeying together as a community isn’t easy. We will go through many ups and downs. We won’t always have bright, clear and sunny days. We won’t always get along with each other.

But let us not complain. Let us be a community that lives by God’s grace. Let us be thankful for how much God has already blessed us. Let us be gracious, patient and loving toward one another. St. Paul said—

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.

Philippians 2:14, 15

Shining like stars in the sky – that’s what we are called to be. Complaining, arguing, fighting – that’s what you find in the world. We are the LIGHT of the world. That is God’s will for us.