August 5, 2019 11:00am

Retreat and Conference Center at Bon Secours

Several days this week, our first reading is from the Book of Numbers.

It is one of the books from the Hebrew Scriptures that might seem far from our experience.

Yet, it does speak to us.

The book is about the Israelites wandering in the wilderness before entering the promised Land.

Today we see them as a crowd of grumpy people.

They are bored, angry, and resentful.

They grumble and complain.

In this passage, the issue is that they want better food and more variety.

Now doesn’t that sound like us, certainly not here at Bon Secours, but maybe at some points in our lives – like when I was in the seminary!

Maybe the truth is that, for all of us, life is at times difficult, boring, dreary, and full of anxiety and worry.

What today’s passages, taken together, call us to realize is that God is among us.

The heart of God is shown in Jesus who had compassion and empathy for the people who followed him to an out-of-the-way place.

Sometimes going through life can be a beautiful and exhilarating experience.

But at other times we feel like the Israelites: bored, resentful, and grumpy.

Sometimes we want something more dramatic than the Eucharist to show us God’s presence.

But, usually, God is with us and helps us in much more simple ways:

in our meals with others, through our conversations with encouraging persons, in some words of wisdom or inspiration that we might read.

The Eucharist reminds us to look for God in the life we are living right now, in this place, and with these people.

That will keep our grumpiness in check!