Loving God, you provide for us so faithfully that sometimes we forget that it all comes from you.  Teach us to look to you for all that is needed, and to walk daily with your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

            What are the things that you really need from day to day?... Would bread and water be enough?  How about food, shelter, and clothing – would that be enough?  How about a cup full of rice and some shelter from the sun and rain – would that satisfy all your needs?  Or, do you need a cell phone, and a car, and good internet access, and fashionable clothes, and a spacious house, and lots of money?...

         If we look at the Israelites wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, there were three things for their physical needs that God provided for them:  water from a rock (to drink), manna (or bread from heaven), and quails that could be eaten for meat.  The manna showed up daily, and each person ended up with exactly the amount that they needed (Ex. 16:18).  Those who tried to take more and to keep it, just in case, ended up with foul-smelling, wormy manna.  They didn’t need to take more, because God continued to provide.

         At the same time, God also provided for them spiritually.  When Jesus is being tempted in the wilderness, he quotes this verse from Deuteronomy: “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (8:3).  In other words, even though God allowed them to be hungry, God also provided bread from heaven and the instructions to go with it.  This was all so that they could learn that God is faithful, and will provide according to God’s Word.

         Jesus also had times when he was hungry, or thirsty, or tired, during his time on this earth.  As far as we know, he had the clothes on his back, and both male and female disciples who provided for him out of their means.  He often slept outdoors, or in the back of the boat, or at somebody else’s house.  And, the one thing spiritually that he could not live without was his time spent in prayer.  These things seem to have been the essentials, even though he could have asked God to send him so much more.

         Finally, we have the first letter to Timothy, where Paul writes about godliness mixed with contentment.  We read:

We brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these (1 Tim. 6:7-8).

He then goes on to write about the love of money as the root of all kinds of evil.

         All of these questions about what we actually need are related to the prayer, “give us each day our daily bread” (Lk. 11:3).  It is a prayer for the necessities that we need from day to day – both physical and spiritual.  It is also a prayer for enough – enough for today, neither more nor less.  However, as we have already seen, not everybody agrees on what “enough” actually looks like.

         Even Martin Luther had a rather interesting view of which things actually constitute necessities.  He mentions things like a farm, fields and livestock, and an upright spouse and children, and good government (Luther’s Small Catechism).  These are part of a long list of necessities that also includes food, drink, and clothing.  However, his point is not the necessities themselves, but recognizing where they come from.  It is God who provides all that is needed – even to evil people! (says Luther) – and in the Lord’s Prayer, we are asking that God would help us to see what is essential and to receive it with thanksgiving.

         At the same time, we are praying for the entire community.  We do not pray for my daily bread, but for our daily bread.  And, in spite of the fact that some do not have enough from day to day, the problem is not with God’s providing, but with human dividing.  God has provided enough for all.

         To return for a moment to our spiritual needs from day to day, you might recall the verse that says, “I am the bread of life” (Jn. 6:48).  Just as Jews referred to the Torah as the bread of life, so Jesus is now described in this way.  He is the bread of life and “the living bread that came down from heaven” (Jn. 6:51).  He is God’s Living Word.

         Because of these descriptions of Jesus, many of the early church leaders connected the daily bread in the Lord’s Prayer with the daily Eucharist that they celebrated.  They saw this practice as a way of receiving Jesus, daily.  I can’t help but think of the song “Give me Jesus.”  “You can have all the rest.  Give me Jesus.”  The song was obviously written by somebody who knew for a fact that they needed Jesus every day.

         Once again, however, it is not just individuals that need Jesus, but the whole community.  Certainly, our community needs the necessities of life like food and water and shelter, but there is just as great a need for the love of God in Jesus Christ.  For, it is Jesus who shows us the depth of God’s love for us, and the destructiveness of sin.  It is Jesus who shows us God’s power to heal, and God’s power to raise the dead.  It is Jesus who breaks down the barriers between us and God and between us and other people.  And, it is Jesus who gives us access to forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life.

         “Give us each day our daily bread” – the necessities that we need from day to day, and just enough for today, for tomorrow, God will continue to provide, through Jesus Christ our Saviour.  Amen.

Pentecost 13 (NL summer)                        Luke 11:2-4

August 30, 2020

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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