What Have You Done for Me Lately?

It is tempting to complain when our lives don't go well. In particular, it is tempting to blame God for our troubles. When we do that, we seem to be asking God, "What have you done for me lately?" although we may not say it in so many words. The Israelites did the very same thing when their lives were difficult during their desert wanderings. I started thinking about that during the past week, and I wrote this sermon. What HAS God done for us lately?

It’s just 5 weeks until the next November election. That means we’ll soon be flooded with political ads on the television, on the radio, and in our mailboxes. And every one of those ads will tell us how wonderful a particular political candidate is! That candidate will remind us not only of his or her long record of public service; we will hear in great detail what that candidate has done for us lately. Politicians assume that voters don’t care what they did 5 years ago. No, voters want to know what those candidates have done for us lately. Have they brought new jobs to the area? Have they strengthened our local economy? Do we have more money in our wallets this year than we had last year because of their actions? Before an election, politicians tend to emphasize what they have done over the past several months. That’s why nothing much gets done in Washington – or in Columbus – in the months leading up to an election. No candidate wants to participate in anything controversial right before an election!

I suppose that those politicians are right. People tend to have very short memories. An insult, even an unintentional one, has been known to ruin a friendship that has lasted for twenty years! “What have you done for me lately?” I guess that question is just human nature. The Israelites certainly asked it. Well… they didn’t ask it in so many words. But their actions certainly asked it! They complained constantly that Moses and Aaron had led them out into the desert to die. This morning’s story is only the first of many times that the Israelites complained about their circumstances. They didn’t have enough food… they didn’t have enough water… they didn’t know where they were headed… they didn’t trust the God who was leading them. Whine, whine, whine! And just in case you’ve forgotten, let me remind you what God had already done for them. God sent Moses to confront Pharaoh and demand that he let the Israelites go free. God sent a whole slew of plagues against Egypt; and not one affected the Israelites. God protected the Israelites against the final, terrible plague: the death of all the firstborn children of the Egyptians. And when the Egyptian army threatened to destroy the Israelites, God parted the Red Sea and led them through it to safely.

“What have you done for me lately?” Why, just look at all that God had already done for them! Why were they even asking that question? But we ask it ourselves all the time, don’t we? We ask God “What have you done for me lately?” as though God hasn’t done a darned thing for us before today. We forget all the times that God has given us blessings, because we usually take them for granted. Maybe it isn’t a bad idea for us to remind ourselves of what God has done for us all through our lives. Those reminders can bring us back to reality when we are tempted to ask God, “What have you done for me lately?”

To start with, we’re alive! We might not be, you know. There is no compelling reason why we were born in the first place. But for the grace of God, we might well have never been! But we are here on this earth, all of us unique individuals who never existed before our lives began, and who will never again be duplicated. And not only are we on this earth, God has given us the means to enjoy the world around us! How many of us give thanks for our five senses? How many of us even stop to think about our five senses? Our senses are the way that we interact with the world in which we live; and the way that we enjoy it.

·         We can see the beauty of a sunrise, the changing colors in a fall forest, and the delicate structure of a butterfly’s wing.

·         We can hear the hum of cicadas in the late summer, the majestic chords of Beethoven’s ninth symphony, and the purr of a kitten.

·         We can smell the perfume of tea roses, the smoke of a campfire in the fall, and the aroma of bacon frying in a skillet.

·         We can taste the sweetness of a spoonful of honey, the tang of a home-grown tomato, and the salt of our own tears.

·         We can feel the smoothness of a baby’s cheek, the embrace of a dear friend, and the comforting warmth of a kitchen after returning from a twilight walk through the snow.

Just as much as the witness of our senses are the feelings that they evoke in us. How can we gaze on the Grand Canyon without feeling a sense of awe at its grandeur? How can we look at pictures from the Hubble Telescope without a sense of wonder at the mysteries of spiral galaxies and exploding stars and black holes? How can we look at our loved ones without feeling grateful that their lives are entwined with ours? And we can’t forget the gift of laughter and all the things that bring it into our lives – fat puppies rolling on the floor; frisky colts hopping around their mamas, all long legs and short, swishing tails; and toddling babies coming just that close to a giggle-filled wipeout on the carpet.

But perhaps the most precious thing that God has given to us is the gift of relationships: human love and friendship, and God’s own unfailing love for us, made visible in Jesus Christ. We might not see that love, or hear it – but we know that it works its way into every aspect of our lives! The old Irish poem St. Patrick’s Breastplate expresses that mystery beautifully:

“Christ is with me, Christ within me,

Christ behind me, Christ before me,

Christ beside me, Christ to win me,

Christ to comfort and restore me.

Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,

Christ in hearts of all who love me,

Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.”

What has God done for us lately? Why, God has given us this world and enabled us to enjoy it. God has given us each other in loving relationships. God has given us himself, in the man Jesus Christ and through the eternal presence of the Holy Spirit. And in the end, God has promised to lead us home to that place where we won’t need our physical senses to feel his presence, as well as the presence of our loved ones who have gone on before us and who will welcome us home into glory.

I know that it’s tempting to complain. The Israelites did it. I do it. We all do it, from time to time! This world is a harsh place; and it’s not getting any easier. We may not be on a trek through the desert like the Israelites were, but we’re all on a journey through life; and that journey can be difficult. When we are tempted to complain that life is just too hard, maybe it would be helpful to remember that we are still God’s people, and that God is still guiding us. Even in the wilderness of doubt and fear, God promises his presence in whatever obstacles we might face. As we remember what God has done for us, we can rely on God’s promise of grace, and mercy, and healing, and love. What has God done for us lately? Why, God has given us all the joys of our earthly lives, help in difficulties, and the promise of the fullness of eternal life in the Promised Land! And that, my friends, is not a cause for complaint. It’s a reason for celebration!