Ercole de' Roberti: Israelites Gathering Manna (1490's),
London National Gallery
Jesus Mafa: The Late-arriving Workers (1973), Cameroon
Manna (For Late Workers, Too)
They said, "What is it?" each to each,
For they did not know what it was;
(Some workers, the owner beseeched
With their clear but self-righteous cause;)
The kingdom's hard to recognize,
Though it be in front of our nose;
(The generous Giver defies
When we think we know how things go;)
We never know when we might see
New gifts rained right down on our heads;
(Others, too, have had answered pleas:
"Give us this day our daily bread;")
To you it will come, and to all,
And each and all hungers erase;
(The last will be first, the first last,
Surprise is the hallmark of grace.)
Scott L. Barton
(The poem is a re-write from the one for 9/21/14)
The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against
Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had
died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots
and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to
kill this whole assembly with hunger.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going
to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and
gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will
follow my instruction or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they
bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days.” So Moses and
Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you shall know that it was
the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you shall
see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaining against the
Lord. For what are we, that you complain against us?” And Moses said, “When the
Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the
morning, because the Lord has heard the complaining that you utter against
him—what are we? Your complaining is not against us but against the Lord.” Then
Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, ‘Draw
near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.’” And as Aaron spoke to
the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness,
and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. The Lord spoke to Moses and
said, “I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, ‘At
twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread;
then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”
In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in
the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew
lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as
fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one
another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them,
“It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.”
+ + +
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out
early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the
laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went
out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he
said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is
right.’ So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three
o’clock, he did the same. And about five o’clock he went out and found others
standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’
They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go
into the vineyard.’ When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his
manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last
and then going to the first.’ When those hired about five o’clock came, each of
them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they
would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And
when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last
worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the
burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend,
I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?
Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I
give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or
are you envious because I am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the
first will be last.”
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