Imagine that after you finish your day, you go home, get ready for bed and then settle in for a good night’s sleep.  When you wake up, you are in the middle of a sandy and rocky wilderness. 

The temperature isn’t terribly hot, and there are some scattered green plants, but you can tell this is a dry and not a comfortable place to be.  Resources for life don’t appear to be abundant.  You find yourself in this wilderness with a group of people from your community.  Some are close friends, some are people you don’t know well, and maybe some are people with which you have some history.  We’re all here together in this wilderness. 

Several of us start talking and we realize that we don’t know exactly where we are, why we are here, or where to go.  We’re just here.  There are questions, concerns, fear, and panic.  People keep talking amongst themselves, but no one has any solutions or ideas about what to do next.

After some time passes a few of us start to get hungry and thirsty.  A few of us volunteer to be scouts to see if they can find food, water, and shelter.  They leave while the rest of us wait anxiously, still confused by the circumstance that we find ourselves in. 

After what seems like an eternity of anxious waiting, the scout team returns and say they found resources.  They said they found someone who was willing to provide us food and water, but they could only provide for 80% of our group. 

So as this reality sets in, you start looking around the group.  You start sizing up people, determining who should or shouldn’t be allowed to sit at the table. 

Who should be in the 80%.

Who was good enough.

Who contributed to the group.

 You see, this is the economics of scarcity. 

There Isn’t Enough

This is the natural response when there isn’t enough of something to go around.  We start determining who should get the resources and who shouldn’t.

So, we are out in the wilderness as a group, and we are feeling the pressure that we might not have enough resources to survive.  We know that there aren’t enough resources for everyone.  We are worried about all of the implications of that realization. The needs of the others are a threat to my own survival.  We start worrying about who is in our community. Who should get the resources and who shouldn’t. And of course, I’m always in the “should” camp.

And then it happens…

We realize that we are not alone in this rocky wilderness. 

The Others

There are others out here that seem to be as lost as we were initially; thrown into the wilderness with no food or water of their own.  We look around and see several groups around us. They are everywhere.   They are different than us.  They have needs too. Some of their needs are greater than ours.  They need more of the resources.  They are hungry and thirsty, but don’t have any food or water and don’t know where to find it.  We could welcome them into our group and take them to the food and water that we found. 

But then we remember: There already is only enough for 80%. 

Welcoming in needy people to our group means that strangers, and people that aren’t like us might get resources. And some from our community might not get them.  I might not get what I need or think I deserve.  How can we share our resources when we don’t have enough for ourselves? And more importantly, why should we?

We found our own source of food and water.  They should go and do the same. Out here in the wilderness its survival of the fittest.  If it’s a choice between good people and bad people sitting at the table with food and water, it should be the good people, right?  We can’t’ reward bad people. We certainly can’t care about them.  Oh, and what makes a person bad is that they are a threat to my ability to get what I need.  Their neediness threatens me.  Why can’t they just be less needy?

But Why?

This may seem a bit harsh or maybe you are wondering why I would ask you to imagine the situation this way.   I wanted you to start thinking about what our natural reaction is when we believe there isn’t enough of something to go around.  I want us to realize how easily we fall into a mode or a system of defining who should get the available resources and why.  I want us to identify in ourselves the motivation behind not wanting to invite others to the table, to share what we have.

You might be thinking that I created this scenario in such a way that we had to look bad, so that there wasn’t a way to survive in the wilderness without making some of these hard choices of who would get food and who wouldn’t.  I could have changed a few details of the story and things wouldn’t be so harsh or make us feel bad. So, let’s retell the story with a few changes.

Starting the Story Over

You awake from your sleep and find yourself in the wilderness.  The scouts go out and find someone who will provide food and water, but instead of 80% of the people being cared for, there will always be more than enough for 100% of the people to have what they need. 

There is no point in taking more than you need because each day there will be enough for everyone.  Now, knowing that you will have enough, as you look at the group, are you ranking people from good to bad?

Are you weighing people’s actions to determine who is the best and who is the worst amongst the group? 

Do you feel threatened by someone else’s needs now that they won’t take away your ability to be fed.  

When you no longer are in competition with the person next to you, is it easier to be happy for them when they get food and water?

And then, when you see the other groups out in the wilderness, lost, without food or water, does knowing that they cannot hurt your ability to be cared for, change the way you see them? 

When you see a hungry or thirsty person in the wilderness and know that, not only is there enough for you, but there is enough for them, is it easier to have compassion for them instead of fearing them? 

Is it easier to lead them to the source of water and food knowing that there is enough for everyone who comes?  

As you look out into the wilderness at the other people that are out there, are you now more likely to feel threatened or have compassion? 

As you see the needs of the people out there, are you more likely to build a wall around “our table” which isn’t ours to begin with, or our we more likely to run to the starving and thirsty saying, “I know where food and water can be found! I can share this with you because I have enough and there is more for you!” These are almost identical stories.  The only difference is the scarcity or abundance of resources.

And while I did just make up this story where we woke up in the wilderness, this basically is the story of Israel, with a few details being different.

 Israel was a slave nation in Egypt, who were freed by God using Moses and the 10 plagues.  They escaped through the Red Sea as it was parted by God.  But then they found themselves in the wilderness. 

They were aware of a promised land where they would dwell in peace with God, but they weren’t there.  They were in the wilderness.  Decades they wandered in the Wilderness.  This wilderness experience is what defined Israel’s identity. 

You see this idea of wilderness throughout the Bible.  It’s a place where you live without the ability to provide for yourself.  It’s a place to be tempted to worry and have anxiety.

John the Baptist wasn’t preaching in the cities, he was in the wilderness, sharing the good news of the one to come.   Jesus was taken out to the Wilderness and tempted by the Devil.  He could save himself at the cost of his purpose and mission; the people that God loves.   The wilderness came to be understood as the place that we all are living while we wait for the promised land of God’s kingdom to be fully established.

Enough

In Exodus 15, the people were thirsty and there was only bitter water to drink.   God instructed Moses to throw a tree into the water and the water turned sweet.  And then shortly after that they found 12 springs of water in the middle of the wilderness.  If you know much about Israel, you will know that there are 12 tribes in Israel.  We can then understand that by having 12 springs, that symbolically there was enough water for everyone.

In Exodus chapter 16, we see that when those Israelites were in the wilderness after escaping Egypt, it was God that provided enough food for everyone every day. Each morning they would wake up and find manna, a bread, on the ground.  They couldn’t keep the manna more than that day.  They would have to depend upon there being new manna tomorrow.  But tomorrow, there was always enough.

That was 4,000 years ago. 

What about today? 

I think there is a lot of confusion about where we are today and what’s happening. I think we have made “believing in Jesus”, or “being saved” the promised land. Some of us think that becoming a Christian means that we are no longer in the wilderness.  At least we think that at the surface level.  We try to assure ourselves that we are in the promised land.  We have arrived. Me being saved is my own promised land.

But at the same time, I think we fear that we are in the wilderness. 

And not only are we afraid that we are in the wilderness still, we are afraid that there aren’t enough resources for everyone. 

I say that because our instinct is still to fear others.  We act out of an economy of scarcity.  We see others as a threat to our position with God and our ability to be provided for.  We can’t invite others to our table because we don’t even have enough for ourselves. We have to be choosy on who we let in.  We might be looking around the church ranking people from “Holy” to “not good enough to be here.”  We might be looking around us, worrying that the needs of others will get in the way of our needs being met.  We act like God has a limited amount of resources for us. We are very cautious about inviting others in and pointing them to the resources that we have found.

Amazing Grace?

Unless of course we don’t actually believe that God is caring for us.  Maybe we don’t trust that God will provide for us in this wilderness.  Maybe we are still operating under the assumption that if I don’t earn it, if I don’t make it, if I don’t do good enough, then I won’t have enough.  Maybe we still see others as threats because we believe that they might get something that they don’t deserve as much as I deserve it. Maybe we are afraid that these “others” might come and take something that is mine.  Or maybe we think we have our status with God because we’ve earned it.

If we invite others to the table it means my position is at risk. We see the world as a zero-sum game.  Are we familiar with that phrase? A zero-sum game is where any increase by one side means a decrease on the other side.  If someone else is getting something it means its being taken from someone else.

You might be wondering at this point, what all this looks like.  Maybe I’m being a bit too abstract or vague. Maybe my hypothetical stories have not connected with our everyday lives yet.  So, what does operating out of scarcity look like?   What does a zero-sum game look like in real life?

It looks like racism:  

Attacking someone or a group of people from a different race because you believe that any advances that they make is taking something from you. It is labeling others as “less than human”, as animals, or as demons. Its working to make sure others do not have the same access to resources and rights because you are convinced that any gains that this other group make comes at your expense.  You can’t allow them to have a seat at your table because they will take things that are yours.  This is an act of hate for sure, but the root of that hate is fear.  Its fear that something I currently have will be taken from me if I allow this other group to have access to the same things I have.

This type of hate and violence is contrary to what God wants for God’s creation and God’s people.  Yes, people have the right to their own opinions, but nothing good comes from hate. Hate is the opposite of how God tells us to live.  There is no room for racism in the church or in the Kingdom of God.

But it doesn’t just show up as racism.

Women too

It also looks like women not being allowed to have equal voice, equal place, or equal benefit.  Its women not being allowed to sit at “our table” because for women to gain something, men have to lose something.  Again, we can spin this situation any which way we want, but it boils down to fear that something I have will be taken from me and given to someone else. It’s a competition.  If I make room at the table for someone else of a different gender then I won’t have enough for myself or people like me.  Of course, this approach to women is contrary to what God wants for God’s children too.

But Wait, There’s More

But again, its not just racist or sexist practices.  This same thing can happen along all kinds of lines.  If I share what I have with the poor and impoverished then I won’t have enough for myself.  We are conditioned in our culture to believe that we never have enough and what we do have isn’t good enough.  Better get the newest thing. Better keeping getting more.  What I have isn’t good enough. Does this sound familiar?

 And so, we believe this about the poor amongst us.  If I don’t have enough now, how could I be generous.  I can’t make room at my table for others because I need everything for myself.

Or maybe its in regards to our religious views.  We look around the wilderness that we are in and live under the economy scarcity. 

There is only so much forgiveness.

There is only so much grace. 

There is only so much that God can provide for people. 

There is only so much love. 

And so, we try to possess it, keep it for ourselves.  We worry that we might lose what we have. We try to justify in our minds why we should have what we have and why others shouldn’t have it. We spend all kinds of time and energy defending our position at the table.

Imagine, If You Will…

I’m going to ask you to imagine a world where the resources needed for life were provided. Where abundance, not scarcity, motivated us.  In our story earlier, when there wasn’t enough for everyone, others were a threat.

But when we knew for certain that we would have enough regardless of how many people came or how needy they were, we saw through a lens of compassion.  “Hey, I found a source for good water and food. Let me share it with you.”  Because here’s the thing.  Its not our table.  We aren’t responsible for creating the resources.

• When Israel was in the wilderness they would wake up everyday to new bread. 
• When Jesus taught his disciples about prayer, he taught them to ask for their daily bread as a reminder to seek that which God provides for them, to trust each day that God is providing for them, and to remember that there was always enough at God’s table. 
• When Jesus was sharing the last supper with them, he took the bread and said that it was his body broken for them and in turn for us.

Daily Bread

This daily bread, this humble meal that God provides, is Jesus himself. 

Jesus is the manna from heaven that arrives new each day.  Jesus is the abundance from God that we can place our trust in.  Because we sit at the Lord’s table, and not a table of our own, we can look around , see the needs of others, and act out of a heart of compassion instead of fear. 

We can see the needs that are present in communities comprised of people with a different color of skin than our own without feeling threatened. 

We can see what our culture has historically done and is presently doing to women and seek to make room for them at the table without fear. 

We can have conversations with Christ followers who have different beliefs than we do without it turning into a battle. 

Because there is enough God to go around.  There is enough forgiveness and grace for everyone. If we seek God’s Kingdom, God’s table first, will not everything else be taken care of? Or do we need to keep others away from my stuff, my territory, my power, my status in order to make it?

³⁰ So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? ³¹ Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

³² Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.³³ For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

³⁴ “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”

³⁵ Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

John 6:30-35

The Communion meal is a reminder that we are better together in community with God and each other than we are by ourselves.  Those motivated by hate don’t understand that people of different races and ethnicities have unique and special talents, strengths, and wisdom that they don’t have. 

By inviting people of other races to the table, their community would grow, be richer, stronger, and have another voice contributing to the wellbeing of the group.  But all they can see is that they once were the only voice that mattered, they were the only one’s whose opinion counted and they are fighting to keep that privileged place in our culture.

Those who refuse to make space at their table for women are also missing out.  They are silencing voices that would broaden the perspectives, bring strength to areas of weakness, bring balance to areas that are deficient. They can’t see that they would gain so much more than they would lose. They don’t understand that God has gifted these women, and by ignoring the women in the community, they are in fact, ignoring a part of what God is planning on doing in that community.

Making space at the table for the poor doesn’t mean that we won’t have enough. Remember that it is God that provides;  the same God that fed 5000 with a couple of loaves of bread and some fish. The same God that loves and provides for, not just a select few, but the world.  The poor are not the losers of some battle for economic stability who need to be reminded of their place.  They are people who need us to be present with them, sharing the spiritual and physical blessings we have received.

And Sinners.  Who needs a doctor more than the sick? Who needs the grace and forgiveness of God more than those who do not know it?

We don’t participate in communion because it’s the churchy thing to do. We don’t participate in communion because we don’t have anything better to do.  We share communion as a community because it reminds us that we are in the wilderness, completely dependent upon the provisions of God. We share in communion because it reminds us that God sustains us. We share the communion table with others because we are reminded that we are better together than divided; The Kingdom of God is not sliced up by race, gender, income level, education level, or reputation.  We are reminded that God has called people like us and different than us to himself.  We are reminded that others need God the same that we need God.

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