Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15
The whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
The Israelites said to them,
“Would that we had died at the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt,
as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread!
But you had to lead us into this desert
to make the whole community die of famine!”
Then the Lord said to Moses,
“I will now rain down bread from heaven for you.
Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion;
thus will I test them,
to see whether they follow my instructions or not.
“I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites.
Tell them: In the evening twilight you shall eat flesh,
and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread,
so that you may know that I, the LORD, am your God.”
In the evening quail came up and covered the camp.
In the morning a dew lay all about the camp,
and when the dew evaporated, there on the surface of the desert
were fine flakes like hoarfrost on the ground.
On seeing it, the Israelites asked one another, “What is this?”
for they did not know what it was.
But Moses told them,
“This is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.”
John 6:24, 30-35
When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they themselves got into boats
and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus….
So they said to him,
“What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?
What can you do?
Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:
He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”
So Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven;
my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.”
So they said to him,
“Sir, give us this bread always.”
Jesus said to them,
“I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
Today’s first reading is from Exodus, about the wandering Israelites who were whining, grumbling and complaining. But God, being a loving father, sent down quail for dinner and a special bread, manna, for breakfast.
Unlike the Israelites, we’re not wandering in the desert, without a home. Unlike the Israelites, we’re not starving: even the jobless and the poor get a monthly check from the taxpayers. In fact, many of us are fat.
But, like the Israelites — and despite all that we have — we, too, whine, grumble and complain.
Constantly.
Even when the real manna from Heaven, the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, is made available to us.
And I/we still whine, grumble and complain!
Do something different this morning: Instead of whine, grumble and complain, thank God for all the many, countless good things He’s given you.
Tell Him you love Him.
Praise Him, and be joyful!
May the peace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you!
~Éowyn
