5 August 2013 - hungry for god

5 August 2013 - hungry for god

But now we are famished;
we see nothing before us but this manna.”

It is understandable that Moses gets frustrated with his people.  He sees them delivered and cared for with such providence.  Yet they aren't even grateful.  They wistfully think very selectively of the good things they left behind while completely forgetting about the misery of their former slavery.

We know that we can be like that.  We value the manna of the Eucharist so much less than fleeting worldly pleasures.  It isn't the highpoint of our week or day as we know it should be.  And when we are like this we expect the response of God to be like the human response of Moses.

If this is the way you will deal with me,
then please do me the favor of killing me at once,
so that I need no longer face this distress.”

But this is not the response of Jesus.  He sees the needs of the crowd, both bodily and spiritual.  And he meets those needs, even in spite of his own need to grieve and rest.

When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist,
he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.
The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns.
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.

Jesus wants space to grieve for his friend John.  But looking on this crowd we see the heart of a true shepherd.  He sees that the crowd is troubled and harassed, like sheep without a shepherd.  His compassion for us wins out over his own needs.

We see Jesus raising his apostles to deal with situations like that which Moses faced.  The question of Moses is certainly on their lips:

Where can I get meat to give to all this people?

But Jesus insists that they respond with compassion and selflessness instead of complaining and turning inward.

He said to them, “There is no need for them to go away;
give them some food yourselves.”

Since he is so full of compassion let us sing to him who is our help.  There is no need for us to go away!  We needn't wander off on our own to meet our needs.  We need not be separated from the LORD in any aspect of our lives.  Let us acknowledge that in him is the fulfillment of all our needs.

While Israel I would feed with the best of wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would fill them.”