LEANING INTO OBEDIENCE + TRUST
If you have gone to the grocery store in the past couple of weeks, my recent shopping trip is probably familiar. I walked in and received a squirt of hand sanitizer with a paper towel from the very kind, albeit, very tired young woman working at Kroger. I had a list of things that would last us for a couple of weeks at home.. The list included basic necessities - milk, cheese, peanut butter, bread, and chicken. Nothing extravagant and certainly nothing I had ever had a difficult time finding before.
As I walked through the aisles, I could sense the tension of the shoppers around me. They avoided eye contact; their steps were intense and hasty. They were grabbing multiples of everything they chose to put into their cart.
I had gone in feeling relaxed, honestly thankful for a short window to leave my home and four very noisy children. But the manifest anxiety of the shoppers around me began to rub off.
Shaking off my discomfort, I continued walking through each row with a little more purpose, a little more haste, and an elevated sense of despair. I was able to find just about everything I needed, except bread. This was pretty essential as far as I was concerned, and I stood there, looking at empty shelves, in disbelief that this was a reality I was experiencing first hand.
I am prone to worry. Worry is such a natural tendency, that a few years ago, I had a portion of Matthew 6 tattooed onto my arm as a daily reminder.
Jesus says during his sermon on the mount -
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Matthew 6: 25-34
It’s so easy to worry during these times, especially as we face the uncertainty day to day of what the future will hold. But we can look to the Bible and faith traditions to help us fine-tune our trust in His Provision and to help us practice obedience.
The story of the Exodus of God’s people is such a beautiful demonstration of the give and take of God’s provision and God’s people’s obedience.
As I was reflecting on the upcoming holidays of Passover and Easter, I was reminded of a Passover tradition that centers on the idea of chametz, which is a product that is made from one of five types of grain and has been combined with water and becomes leavened or has some leavening agents in it. In a word - “bread.”
In the weeks leading up to Passover, devout Jews go through a ritual cleansing of EVERYTHING - their homes, cars, classrooms, desks, anything in their possession that has chametz is removed.
They do this process because they are following the Torah law, as stated in (Exodus 13:3–7): “No leaven shall be eaten . . . For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread . . . and no leaven shall be seen of yours [in your possession].”
It is customary that Jews are to sell their chametz to Gentiles, in order for their possession of the items to be revoked.
As I remembered this sacred tradition, I went online to see how the Jewish people were handling the tradition this year with the shortage of foods like bread. Just as before, year after year, there were websites dedicated to showing Jewish families how to properly discard their chamatz with websites set up for them to sell their chamatz to Gentiles.
They are selling it all, trusting fully that God will provide them with daily bread.
They are preparing matzah (unleavened bread) to eat in its place. And their final ritual happens on the eve of Passover when they have their children search the house for any remaining chametz.
This year, as we make adjustments to our most sacred holiday as Christians - Easter - may we have the resilience of the Jewish people to continue to push into our faith; knowing that God will provide for our needs.
May we take a cue from the Jewish faith to lean into our obedience.
Obedience as Christians may look different than obedience to the law. Our obedience may be to increase our generosity when we are tempted to hoard and conserve; obedience may mean reaching out to our neighbors to help with their physical and spiritual needs, even if these conversations are hard or uncomfortable.
As we prepare for Easter, I would encourage you to teach your children about the sacred holiday of Passover as well. Teach them about the time in the desert, God’s provision during times of uncertainty, and how Jews even today demonstrate their faith through symbols like chamatz and matzah.
The story of the Israelite’s exodus from Egypt and the way God provided for them is a beautiful story we can use to reassure our children (and ourselves) that our God has this all under control.
Along with the rich symbolism of Passover and the Seder meal, as Christians we also get to reflect on the Passover meal as Jesus’ last meal with his disciples.
In the next few weeks that lead up to Passover and Easter, here are some fun ways to talk about God’s provision and provide hands on learning that are spiritually nourishing.
Have your children search for Chamatz (this could also be a really good replacement for Easter egg hunts this year).
Much of the focus of Passover for Jewish people is the idea of freedom, an apt and timely message for our children (and us) as they may be feeling very “unfree” right now. Here is a simplified seder activity that is accessible to all ages.
Have the children create puppets popsicle stick characters that recreate the Exodus or the Resurrection story.
For very young children, Shalom Sesame has really fun videos that talk about the search for chamatz and meaning of Passover.
Make macaroons, a common Passover sweet.
Create a cup for Elijah to join your Passover table.
How do you remind yourself and those around you that God is is “Jehovah Jireh” - the Lord who Provides?
- Emily Thien