March 19th Reflection by Bill Lynch

Exodus 15:22-27 (NRSV)
God gives the people water
Then Moses ordered Israel to set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter. That is why it was called Marah. And the people complained against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?" He cried out to the Lord; and the Lord showed him a piece of wood; he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.

There the Lord made for them a statute and an ordinance and there he put them to the test. He said, "If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in his sight, and give heed to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you."

Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees; and they camped there by the water.

Reflection
Even though the Israelites had been delivered from the Egyptians by a loving and gracious God, they still needed to pray and cry out to God for help along their journey towards the promised land.

Isn't it amazing how a tree planted years prior to this situation of the Israelites tasting of the bitter water would be the tree that would make the bitter water sweet. God had so lovingly thought of the Israelites in advance.

Today, too, God has loved all people. God had planned in advance our deliverance from sin through Jesus life, ministry, suffering, death and resurrection. But we still walk the journey in the wilderness. Even though delivered, life can be tough. We, too, need to cry out in prayer to God for the wood that makes the water sweet. Doesn't this make you recall your baptism and the cross? And to think that it's a corporate action that comes also in an individual experience. Thanks be to God!

Prayer
Lord, hear your peoples cry as we walk through this wilderness of life towards the promised land. You alone deliver and sustain us... today... tomorrow... and forever. --- Amen