The story that we read this morning from the Book of Exodus is not just a story about something that happened a long time ago in a world very different from our own. It is a story that the people of Israel told over and over again throughout their history. That is why there are so many variations on the theme of the people complaining in the wilderness in the Bible – including two different versions of the story of the water that flowed from the rock.

They didn’t just tell these stories in the aftermath of experiences of Egyptian slavery; they continued to tell them and retell them in different ways because they recognized that it was a continual challenge to live as free people. They told them as a reminder that the temptation to sell themselves back to those who would exploit them would always be there.

Not Just Egyptian Pharaohs

And don’t forget that such exploiters do not come only in the form of Egyptian pharaohs. These stories also warn about the danger of submitting to autocratic rule by your own elected or hereditary leaders. They are warnings against religious and spiritual leaders who control every aspect of the lives of their flock.

And, if the people who first told these stories were still telling them today, they would definitely tell them as warnings against handing the control of your life over to billionaire tech lords and their companies or to artificial intelligence chatbots. They would tell them as warnings against seeking to create a safe society by means of constant surveillance.

Ongoing Relevance

These are not just ancient stories focused on situations that have nothing to do with us if we have never been lost in a desert. They remain very important and relevant stories, perhaps more today than ever, given the temptations we face to abandon our freedom for the sake of security and convenience today.

So, let’s take a look at the story of the Wadi Rephidim to see where it speaks to us about the temptations of modern living as people of faith.

The Hard Part About Freedom

Moses had very quickly learned that it was one thing to obtain freedom for people, but quite another to help them to live out that freedom. When people are oppressed or enslaved, they readily recognize their enslavers and how they are being exploited for their labour. They see how it is sucking the life out of them.

But they don’t always recognize that there are many things that they take for granted in their bondage. Say what you will about oppression, but it does offer people a certain structure to their lives. They know what they have to do and when they have to do it. There is a comfort in that.

Enslavers and exploiters can be incredibly cruel in their methods of extracting every last bit of work from people. But in their pursuit of that, they generally recognize that people need a certain level of nutrition in order to perform, and they will provide that.

Complaining

So, while Moses had persuaded the people to follow him into freedom, he had found himself dealing with a people who complained ever since. They complained because he could not provide them with the kind of stability and predictability that they had known in Egypt.

And he was getting tired of it. No matter where he led them or what he found for them, it was never good enough. Whatever God offered them in their freedom, it seemed that their taskmasters had been able to give them better before. And so one day God inspired Moses with a brilliant idea.

Moses in Midian

They were travelling, in those days, through the desert around Midian. And remember that Moses had spent many years in that region. After he had murdered a man and fled from Egypt, Moses had come as a refugee to the land of Midian.

There, he had been taken in by the local priest, a man named Reuel in some of the stories and Jethro in others. Jethro had even given him one of his prized daughters, Zipporah. He had also given Moses charge over his sheep.

As chief shepherd to the priest of Midian, Moses had ranged far and wide in the wilderness over many years. And in those years, he saw many wonders and had deep spiritual experiences in desolate places. He once saw a bush that burned, but that was not consumed in the fire; but, that is another story for another day.

Local Knowledge

The chief job of shepherds is to find water and pasturage for their flocks, and that is not easy in such places. There is little rain for much of the year, and so a shepherd has to know the location of every well and spring and learn the secrets of such places. And so, Moses had sought out such specialized knowledge from his father-in-law and from others who had lived there for many generations. That is how he came to know about the spring at the Wadi Rephidim.

The elder had led Moses there and watched him with amusement as Moses tried to make sense of the strange landscape. It was clearly a wadi, which is the word in that part of the world for a riverbed that is sometimes full of water but often not. The land was green enough that there was plenty of fodder in and among the rocks. The flock bleated gladly and quickly set to grazing.

Hidden Source

But the thing that puzzled Moses was that there was no water source to explain the existence of this wadi. How would he be able to water his sheep? As he surveyed the place, all he could see was a ground littered with rocks of various size.

As Moses looked up at him with bewilderment, the elder merely laughed and led him to one particular rock. It didn’t really look all that different from any of the others, but the elder pointed at this one and told Moses to remember which one it was and memorize its exact shape.

Then the man took his shepherd’s staff and raised it up above his head before striking the rock with a mighty blow. To Moses’ wonder and amazement, the staff did not just bounce off the rock. It broke it apart and, as the pieces of rock fell away, water began to flow freely. The sheep all rushed forward and began to drink greedily.

Blocked Spring

What was the explanation for this wonder? It is simply this. The water in a spring can be very rich in calcium, magnesium and other minerals. This is especially true when it flows through chalk or limestone.

And when the water flows in a certain way, the deposits of these minerals tend to build up around the springhead. They can even build up to the point where the flow slows and then even stops altogether. Any ignorant passerby, seeing such a spring, would assume there was no water, but those who have lived in those lands for generations and who have had the knowledge passed down to them, just as it was now being passed on to Moses, know exactly what to do.

An Inspired Idea

As Moses travelled with the restive children of Israel, who had wanted to be free, but who clearly did not understand the cost of living free, he felt his frustration grow. One night, after having spent a day fielding endless complaints, he had a brilliant idea. In fact, it was so brilliant that he knew it was inspired.

They were within a day’s journey of the Wadi Rephidim. He suddenly felt quite certain that God was telling him exactly what the next stop on their journey needed to be.

Grumbling at the Wadi

As they arrived at the wadi, Moses heard the people’s grumbling start immediately. “What is this! This is supposed to be an oasis, but there is no water? Remember how we never ran out of water in Egypt.” Yes, they always came back to the idea that things were so much better in Egypt.

Remembering his own first reaction so many years ago, Moses had totally expected theirs. But rather than the frustration that usually overtook him when the people started complaining, this time he felt something different. Indeed, he struggled to contain his glee and present a stern countenance.

He let them go at it for a while – allowing their resentment and regret grow as the whiners and grumblers wound each other up. Once the chorus of discontent had reached a fever pitch, he finally decided that the time for the object lesson had come.

The Demonstration

“Alright, alright,” he called out, “I get it. Let the elders of the people come with me, and I will show you what God thinks about your grumbling!”

Moses had resolved to make a show of it. No more words were necessary. He just made sure that all the elders had a good view as he made his way unerringly to the one rock where he knew he needed to stand. And you can bet that he raised his staff high and delivered a mighty blow to just the right spot.

As the water began to flow, he grinned uncontrollably at the shouts of amazement.

Miracle Stories?

We tend to treat the stories of the people complaining in the wilderness as straightforward miracle tales in our tradition. God’s provision for the wandering nation of Israel during those years is thought of as a series of wonders that happened once under the most extraordinary of circumstances, never to be repeated.

That effectively turns these stories into tales that have little to do with us, who, as we go through our ordinary lives, do not expect to have such wonders performed on our behalf.

Natural Desert Phenomena

But these desert stories do contain elements that are a natural part of desert life in that part of the world. There is a substance, produced by the secretions of tamarisk trees, that is white and flaky and can be eaten by nomads. That sounds an awful lot like manna.

And the stories about the Israelite camps being filled with quail that the people gathered and ate until they were full. Believe it or not, that actually happens in the Sinai desert, where huge flocks of migrating quail become so exhausted on their flights that, when they pause, nomads can gather them at will.

And, yes, there are rocks from which streams of water will flow, at least if you can find the right rock and hit it in just the right way.

Natural or Supernatural?

And when you learn all of that, you realize that these stories are stories of God’s provision for God’s people, but that that provision may be more natural than supernatural. And that makes me suspect that the point of these stories is not simply to demonstrate how awesome and powerful God has been in the past. They are to teach us about relying upon God today.

So, with all of that in mind, what was Moses trying to teach the people of Israel by letting them worry and complain and then putting on such a dramatic display at the rock? I think he was trying to teach them about the dangers of putting your trust in the powerful oppressors of this world to provide your needs.

They Say We Need Them

That is the argument that the powerful and the wealthy make all the time. They tell us that they are the only ones who can give us what we need. Only they can create employment. Only they can keep us safe. We must rely on them to create our communication networks, our “public” forums and put all the information at our fingertips.

And we can have all of that, they tell us, for the low, low price of giving up all of our privacy and allowing them to set the agenda of our entire economy and political system so that they can get richer and maintain their power. They beckon us, in other words, with the promise of Egypt – the promise of safety and security at the cost of our freedom.

God’s Resources

And so, what does the dramatic demonstration with the staff at the rock say to that? It is Moses reminding us all that God has placed depths of resources all around us. There are cool streams of running water just below the surface.

And we don’t need the tyrants of Egypt to release those resources for us. We may need to reconnect with the traditions of our ancestors to find them. They have memories that will show us how those resources can be release. We may need to find the strength that is in the community of free people to release them. But they are there.

The resources of this world do not belong to the mighty Pharaohs of Egypt. They belong to God, and God gives them to the free people of this earth. That was the message that Moses was communicating loud and clear with the mighty crash of a staff against that rock.

Cake Sunday!

Posted by StAndrewsHespeler on Friday, March 6th, 2026 in

Celebrating birthdays from January - April. After worship.

Sunday worship

Posted by StAndrewsHespeler on Friday, March 6th, 2026 in

Worship begins at 10:00 am

Hope Clothing

Posted by StAndrewsHespeler on Friday, March 6th, 2026 in

Our next CNT …

Posted by StAndrewsHespeler on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026 in News

Join us for a delicious home cooked meal and some fun & fellowship.

Nick at Night

Posted by Scott McAndless on Sunday, March 1st, 2026 in Minister, News

Watch sermon video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csEgweIF_ug

March 1, 2026, © Scott McAndless – Communion, Second Sunday in Lent
Genesis 12:1-4, Psalm 121, Romans 4:1-5, 13-17, John 3:1-17

Nicodemus came to see Jesus at night. That is the first thing that we are told about him after his introduction as a Pharisee and a Jewish leader.

And I know that people have traditionally read a particular meaning into that. Most every commentary and interpretation of this passage I have read assumes that Nick came under the cover of darkness because he didn’t want anyone to know of his interest in Jesus or his teaching. They invite us to imagine him hiding his face behind his cloak and looking over his shoulder, deathly afraid that someone might see him.

I Don’t Agree

But I don’t agree. I don’t think that the gospel writer is saying that Nick was frightened or embarrassed to be seen with Jesus. (You don’t mind if I call him Nick, do you? We’re going to be talking about him a lot.) Nick has no particular reason to be embarrassed at this point in the story. No, the meaning of his nocturnal visit is simpler than that. It has a symbolic meaning and is related to one of the most important ideas in this gospel – the idea of the darkness and the light.

The Gospel is telling us that Nick is in the darkness. He may think that he understands the truth, but he does not. He is on the wrong track. And Jesus is about to correct him. Indeed, Nick is so much in the dark that he will not be able to understand the truth when Jesus lays it right out in front of him.

Contrast with Story in Next Chapter

Next week we will read from the next chapter of this Gospel in which Jesus will have a similar conversation with someone else: a woman at a well. That encounter will take place at the brightest time of day, which is a clear symbol to us that she is much closer to the truth and more open to the truths Jesus declares.

But Nick? Nick comes at night. Nick may have studied and taught the scripture. He may have been given an honoured position as leader of his people, but he is in the dark when it comes to understanding who Jesus is, and what his coming is all about.

Are We Like Nick?

And that is something that we all need to pay close attention to today. Because there is a danger, a very real danger, that we may be like Nick. We, too, may be coming to Jesus here today in the night. We, too, may be lost in confusion concerning what Jesus is all about.

In particular, I myself may be in the most danger. For I, among us all, am most like Nick. I have studied the scriptures and have presumed, like him, to teach others about them. I have dared to take a position leading God’s people. This story is prompting me to ask, “Am I coming to Jesus in the night as well?”

An Opening Statement

Nick comes to Jesus at night with what is obviously a well-thought-out opening statement. “Rabbi,” he says, “we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with that person.”

That opening statement shows us exactly what is important to Nick on this night. He is obsessed with the question of authority. He has been trying to work out whether Jesus has the authority to teach what he has been teaching and do what he has been doing. He is seeking confirmation that Jesus has indeed come from God.

Now, to be clear, that is a valid concern. Of course, it matters that Jesus has come from God. It matters that Nick has decided he believes that, and it matters what we believe about Jesus too.

Wrong Priorities

But Nick has come at night. Have I made that point clear to you yet? And that means that he is not coming with the right priorities in mind. Yes, it matters what you believe about Jesus, but Nick has missed a crucial step.

And so, Jesus cuts him off. He doesn’t respond at all to the concerns that Nick is raising. Instead he changes the subject. Why does he do that? Well, obviously, because Nick has come at night.

He is fumbling around in the darkness and doesn’t even know what he is dealing with. He thinks that what really matters is questions of authority and where Jesus’ teaching comes from. But Jesus wants to let him know that something else comes first. That is why Jesus interrupts him.

Born from Above

“Very truly, I tell you,” Jesus says, “no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Jesus is telling him what matters, what comes first. But Nicodemus is so much in the dark that he totally misunderstands what Jesus is saying.

This Gospel was written in Greek. And the Greek word that Jesus uses there is ἄνωθεν, which means “from above.” Jesus clearly means that someone needs to have a new birth that comes from God, from heaven above.

A Misunderstanding

But did I mention that Nick came to Jesus at night? He is so totally in the dark that he can’t understand the plain meaning of what Jesus says. Rather than understanding that Jesus is telling him that he needs to change his entire life with a new orientation that comes from God, he becomes obsessed with the question of how. He wants to know what he has to do to obtain this new beginning.

Now, the word that Jesus used, the word ἄνωθεν, also had a secondary meaning. It could also mean “anew,” in the sense that we might say that someone was made over from top to bottom. And so, Nick, floundering around in the dark, completely misunderstands Jesus’ meaning and assumes that he is saying that he needs to be born again.”

And that is why his comeback is to say that what Jesus is suggesting is simply impossible. It can’t be done. “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” And so Nick misses the point. He concentrates on the method of obtaining entrance into the kingdom and discovers that he can’t do it.

Two Problems

And so, Nick represents the two main stumbling blocks that, to this very day, get in the way of those of us who are in the darkness. The first problem we have is that we become concerned with questions of correct belief about Jesus, and the second is that we get sidetracked by questions of how we obtain that birth from above.

When we come to Jesus at night, we will get sidetracked by arguments over what we believe about Jesus. Is Jesus the Son of God? What was the nature of his birth, his life, his resurrection? How do we define the relationship between the Father and the Son? These are, of course, all important questions. But they are also questions that we will never understand completely or logically. We will never all conceive of the answers in perfect unison.

Believing the Right Things

But, in the darkness, we make the mistake of thinking that believing all the right things about Jesus in the right ways is what it means to believe in Jesus. But it does not. When we reduce faith to a question of accepting a number of intellectual propositions, we only end up arguing, like Nicodemus, over questions of where Jesus came from and how. We will never arrive that way at the birth from above.

And I believe that that is exactly what the church has been getting wrong almost from the beginning. We have become obsessed with the questions of what we are supposed to believe.

Battles Over the Trinity

In the third century and especially the fourth, the church literally split itself in two over the question of what people believed about the nature of the relationship between the Father and the Son and how to reconcile that to Greek Philosophy.

And I mean that literally. There would be riots in the streets of Alexandria over the question of whether the Father and the Son shared the same substance or had a similar substance.

And again, to be clear, it does matter what the relationship is between Jesus and God. It matters to our salvation. But do you know what matters more than that? It matters that you experience God in Jesus Christ and that that changes your life. You can have all the “correct” formulations of the nature of the Trinity in the world, it will not matter unless you have that encounter with God first, and you have it through Jesus.

Divisions

But what have we done again and again throughout the history of the church? We have divided and condemned fellow believers over questions of correct belief. You name it, we have condemned people over it: the date of Easter, what actually happens during communion, when and how to baptize, how scripture is inspired and how the church should be governed.

That is by no means an exhaustive list. We have argued over the correct belief about just about everything in the life of the church. That is what you do when you come to Jesus at night. You fumble around in the dark over things that you will can never entirely grasp hold of.

Perhaps we think that if only we can come up with the list of all the correct things that you are supposed to give your intellectual assent to, that will be the thing that brings us out of the dark and into the light of day. It does not work like that. You can believe all the right things intellectually. That alone will not give you access to the kingdom of God. That is what Jesus is saying to Nick at night.

The Question of How

So, what will? And how is it to be done? That is the next question that Nick turns to. If what is needed is birth from above, he wants to know how.

And the church, lost in the night, has often obsessed over the same question. We have not been quite as ridiculous about it as Nick. We have not tried to put people back into their mothers’ wombs to come out again, but we have piled on certain expectations of what you are supposed to do.

The church, floundering around in the night, has said that you have to be baptised just right, receive the sacraments in the right way, confess just right, give the right testimony in church, or say the right prayer with the right kind of sincerity. And the list of requirements that we have piled on people goes on and on.

Getting First Things First

Now, such actions matter – of course they do. They are natural and important parts of a balanced Christian life. But Jesus is telling Nick at night that it is not the doing of these things alone that gives the birth from above. In fact, they really accomplish nothing if you don’t get first things first.

So, we all have the same tendency as Nick does when he comes to Jesus at night. We give priority to the wrong things. We make it all about correct belief and correct methods to get us into God’s kingdom. But those are all secondary things. It is all about being born from above.

Jesus Makes it Simple

And how does that happen? We, in our darkness and in the night, want to make it so complicated like Nick. But Jesus makes it simple. He tells Nick and us what it is all about. It works, he says, just like the bronze serpent worked in the desert. “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.”

In that story, when the Israelites were dying in the darkness of the wilderness, they were saved by the bronze serpent. And what did they have to do to be saved? Did they have to adopt particular intellectual beliefs about the serpent? No. Did they have to go through particular rituals or prayers? No.

They simply had to look upon the serpent with trust. That is all. Simple trust is all that Jesus asked for too. “That whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”

Coming in the Day

You see, because we come at night, because we have given in to the darkness and the suspicion that goes with it, we miss the simple truth. The one thing that Jesus really wants to know from us is simply this: Will you trust me?

So will you come to Jesus in the light of day? Will you lay aside the ways of the night and come with open trust? This is the promise he gives to all, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him – everyone who looks upon him with simple trust – may not perish but may have eternal life.

“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world – And certainly not so that we would be torn apart one from another with our arguments – but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

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