10 The Israelites camped in Gilgal. They celebrated Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month on the plains of Jericho. 11 On the very next day after Passover, they ate food produced in the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. 12 The manna stopped on that next day, when they ate food produced in the land. There was no longer any manna for the Israelites. So that year they ate the crops of the land of Canaan.
Reflection
What do you do when the source of support that you depend upon disappears? That’s what happens in the scripture reading today. The quail and manna that God had provided disappeared. God never left them; God provided in a new way.
My husband’s dream job was opening a portrait studio. We bought a franchise and followed all the recommendations and guidelines. It wasn’t about making a fortune; it was about using the gifts God had given us for the enjoyment of others. It was a far cry from full-time ministry but we remained connected through activities with the local UMC.
Then a series of unexpected events took the promised future away from us. It was through the United Methodist Church and a full-time appointment that our lives turned around.
When the Israelites finally reached the Promised Land, they thought their dreams were fulfilled. But there was one catch – they had to depend upon the people and the crops of Canaan to survive their first year. They discovered that they couldn’t live a full life without being part of an extended community. God’s kin-dom come, God’s will be done, as we work together for the future God has planned for us, on earth as it is in heaven.
By Kathleen Stolz
For Pondering & Prayer
The first two lines of the Lord’s Prayer are very similar to the Kaddish, an ancient Hebrew prayer that Jesus’ disciples would have memorized. The Mourners’ Kaddish is said by the community for eleven months of mourning after the death of loved ones. Imagine the number of deaths and the number of times this prayer was said during the 40 days the Israelites wandered in the wilderness led by Moses. This prayer was a constant reminder that God was with them.
Let’s pray it now: Glorified and sanctified be God’s great name throughout the world which He has created according to His will. May He establish His kingdom in your lifetime and during your days, and within the life of the entire House of Israel, speedily and soon; and say, Amen.
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