Before I leave for vacation, there is something I need to get off of my chest. Some of you might think I’m crazy, some of you may be horrified by what I’m about to share, but I think many of you will understand. What I want to say is this: I am frustrated by a certain behavior of babies that is widespread, almost epidemic. Now, I don’t mean little newborns, no, they are actually pretty good about this. I am thinking more about babies when they start being aware of their surroundings and begin exploring and trying to impose their will on others. Certainly, by the time they are toddlers, this behavior is full-blown.
So, what am I talking about?
Napping, that’s right, napping. These little babies, who everyone thinks are so cute, are rejecting invitations to nap all the time. Even when they are fed, changed, gently rocked, and pleaded with, they still fight ferociously. So often, you can tell that the baby is exhausted; they need the nap but they continue to resist. It drives me crazy when I see these little people, surrounded by their adoring entourage, turing down invitations to nap. The don’t know how good they have it, what a gift they are being offered, and so they reject it. Now, I can’t be too hard on these little babies, I myself acted the same way. Sneaking out of bed during nap time, fighting and screaming every day when that time came around. I now regret my behavior and often wish I could reclaim those wasted opportunities for rest. I lecture my nieces and nephews this every time I see them protesting their nap but they don’t seem to understand what I am saying and sometimes they scream and yell even louder.
Believe it or not, I share this personal frustration with you for a reason. Just as little children fail to see the good thing they have in taking a nap each day, so too, in our first reading, the Israelites fail to see the good things that God is providing for them in the desert. Prior to their journey into the desert, God’s people were in a bad place. For generations, they had been slaves of Pharaoh and their fate was a miserable one. They were pressed into heavy labor, day after, year after year, with less and less rest. Their captors became more and more abusive, to the point that they began to slaughter their male children in the hopes of taking away the strength and future of God’s people. In response, God raised up Moses, and inflicted the 10 plagues upon Pharaoh and his people. Egypt let the Israelites leave, but soon changed their mind and pursued them with bad intent. At the Red Sea, God completely destroyed their captors and ensured the freedom of his people in a very definite way. That’s where our reading today starts.
But the people begin to complain already. They are hungry and God is making them rely completely on him during this time in the desert, by themselves they are powerless. They begin to forget the hardship of their slavery to Egypt and they complain. They tell Moses, "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! In other words, we had it better as slaves because, back then, at least our bellies were full of meat and bread! Already, God’s people are settling for something less than the freedom he offered them, they are willing to be enslaved again simply so they don’t have to be hungry, they are setting their eyes on the lower, lesser goods. God, in his goodness and patience, gives them manna from heaven and even provides meat for them while they sojourn in the desert. This food literally comes down from heaven and through this great miracle, God is already setting the stage for an even greater miracle where he will feed all who believe in him with an even better bread from heaven.
Now, we might listen to this story and be a little indignant. We might think to ourselves, “How dare those Israelites question God’s plan for them in the desert! I can’t believe they complain after all he did for them! We might wonder how in the world they would be willing to go back into slavery, just so they could have their little pots full of meat and bread. Don’t they see what they would be giving up?! Don’t they see that they would be sacrificing the freedom and the Promised Land that God wants to give them?!” As outraged as we might feel, as awful as the Israelites behavior truly is, it is a problem that you and I struggle with in our own hearts and lives as well.
We have been given the True Bread from heaven, the Body and Blood of Jesus himself! The food that God gave Israel in the desert was just an appetizer for the perfect meal that he was preparing when his Son would come to earth. And yet, do we really appreciate that gift? Do we complain about what the Lord has given us and wish for something else? Don’t we sometimes wish that Mass could be a little more interesting? or a little shorter? Or at a more convenient time? Perhaps these things are not our struggle. But maybe we settle for lesser things as the Israelites did. Instead of finding our true happiness and fulfillment in Christ, we look for those things in worldly items, pleasures, and honors. Perhaps we are willing to go back to a spiritual slavery so that we can be a little more comfortable or familiar with our surroundings.
Far too often, we settle for lesser things and we fail to appreciate the divine gift that is being offered to us. Like the baby fighting the nap, like the Israelites wishing for the food of slaves, we can fail to see the the gift in front of us. These 5 weeks, with the Bread of Life discourse, remind us of the great treasure we have in the Eucharist. The Church wants us to know that we have been set free by the Body and Blood of Jesus. God will feed our souls with himself, the only thing that will ultimately satisfy us. The challenge for us this Sunday is simple. We have the greatest of gifts; the most magnificent of miracles before us. Jesus, the true and eternal Bread from Heaven, is given to us at each and every Mass. Let us resolve to deepen our faith in this precious gift and never take it for granted. May we strive to receive the Eucharist with grateful hearts taking full advantage of all the benefits it contains.
