March 7

Exodus 16:27 – 35

Links to Bible Verses: Exodus 16

Reverence: Inclusive of all of creation—including self—because of the spark of the Divine in all

Here we are again, back with the Israelites wandering in the desert. Throughout the accounts of their journey, we repeatedly encounter despair, waning faith, and grumblings, all of which are understandable given the circumstances. But can these stories offer us more than a chance to commiserate and sympathize with the drudgeries of human life, especially three millennia after the fact and when the stories center on miracles that seem like fairy tales to our science-based worldview?

With my heart focused on reverence, I hear a call to the now and a call away from a scarcity mindset in this story of manna in the morning. I hear a story of faith and reverence. Because the manna kept appearing in quantities enough for all, and because it did not last until the next day, the Israelites were called to be present to the adequacy of the moment, arguably to revere the sacredness of enoughness.

This is an important lesson, but who am I, with my comfort and security overflowing, to call others toward faith and reverence of enoughness? By the grace of God, I have been gifted this understanding of enoughness by people in the margins, by former gang members at Homeboy Industries, by the life of Sojourner Truth, and by people experiencing homelessness. These are some of the wisest and most grateful people—astoundingly so—and they are living testaments to enoughness.

Thank you to Linda Land-Closson for writing our 2026 Lenten Devotions.