18th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Exodus 16: 2-4, 12-15; Ephesians 4: 17, 20-24; John 6: 24-35
Deacon Lee Hunt (St. Monica)

God Hears Our Cry

I think that most people are complainers. Some of us complain more than others do. I know some perpetual complainers, others who complain just once in awhile, and many who fall between the two extremes.

In the last two jobs I worked before retirement, my co-workers and I would happily work until after lunch when we would go for a walk and eventually complain about various things.

In retrospect, it is amazing that we complained at the job I had in NJ. I worked for Exxon’s brand new Corporate Research Laboratory. It was built in the early 1980s when oil companies had money to burn. It was situated on a mountaintop overlooking valleys where I could watch deer from my office window. The company spared no expense on the facility and over paid workers with the hope of generating Nobel prizes. This was the highlight of my career as a chemist. But as amazing as it may seem, my coworkers and I found things about which to complain.

The highlight of all Hebrew history is God delivering them from captivity in Egypt. God told Moses that he had heard the “cry of complaint” of his people. So after the plagues and parting of the sea, God’s people journeyed to the Promised Land. But the 40-year journey was a time to form the Hebrews as a people and all was not easy. In today’s reading from the Book of Exodus, we hear the Hebrews grumbling about not having enough to eat in the desert. What a fickle people and so slow to trust in the Savior!

But God did not forget his people; he sent them food as bread from heaven. If you read the whole Book of Exodus at one sitting, you will find that the Hebrews continued to grumble during their whole trip to the Promised Land and yet God continued with his redeeming love and provident care for his chosen people.

In today’s gospel, Jesus tells his disciples that he is the bread from heaven, and in a sentence just after where we finished reading, his disciples “began to grumble against him.” God’s people grumbled before the time of Jesus, at Jesus, and we continue on after the time of Jesus.

What do we grumble about today in our parish? I’m sure you’ve heard people complain about the noisy roof on what is otherwise a beautiful new church. Some grumble about having to go to Church on Sunday. Others don’t like the Church’s teaching on life issues, such as abortion and the death penalty. Ever heard anyone complain about what the Church teaches on birth control? How about fast and abstinence during Lent? Yes, we too are complainers today!

So, how do we get to be less of a complainer and to better accept some of the things we don’t like in life, let alone the Church? I believe that the answer lies in today’s reading from St. Paul. He tells us we “must no longer live as the Gentiles do,” but to “be renewed” and to “put on the new self.” Oh oh, this sounds like we have to make a change, another thing about which we complain.

There are many things that can cause us to become incapable of change, or to have hardness of heart because we have resisted it for so long. We can be a workaholic or shopaholic or be addicted to sin, chronically depressed, or eroded by constant pain or neglect. We do not know what miseries explain the hardened heart or the dulled conscience. This we do know: God’s mercy is infinite. God is faithful to us just as he was to the people in the times of Moses and Jesus.

I’m not sure what will soften your heart, but I do know what affects some others. Making major changes in time allocation brings us closer to God. Being temporarily jobless worked for me, but is not something I recommend. Better, occasionally spend a day or weekend at a retreat house, or an hour in Eucharistic Adoration each week, or in quiet prayer at home each day. Receive the Bread from Heaven during daily Mass.

Learning about God also draws us closer to him. Read scriptures, join a RENEW group, attend a parish class, or take a course at the Archdiocesan center. As adults, we should know more about God than what we learned in mid-school or high school.

Even when we make some of these changes, we will still find time to complain, just not as often. And when we do complain, remember that God has been merciful to his people and continues to be so. This is a great God, who remains faithful to us in spite of our limitations!