In today’s first reading,
Exodus 16: 1-5, 9-15, the Israelites are complaining to Moses that he brought
them out into the desert to die of famine. God hears their grumbling—how quickly
they forgot that God was delivering them from slavery—and responds with raining
“down bread from heaven.” He instructs
Moses to give the people the following message:
“Present yourselves before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.” He also instructs Moses to “[t]ell 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.”
When people grumble
against me, treat me scornfully, turn against me, the last thing I want to do
is “rain down bread from heaven” upon them.
How unlike God I can be! God teaches me in this passage that there is
another way that leads to freedom and grace: that of generosity, humility, and
understanding. Humans can be
cantankerous individuals. God knew that but does not stoop down to their
level. I pray that I, too, will rise up
to the occasion and, in humility, respond to others as the Spirit in me wants
to respond, not in accord with the ego’s desire for revenge. May I also have
the humility to “present myself to the Lord,” for He knows that when I am in
grumpy mood and need “refueling.”
How about you?
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