Complaining

The Israelites wept again, and said, "If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we used to eat in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at."   Numbers 11:4-6

                                       Fruit                 Igor Bragin, 2010

The Israelites are at it again. They cried out to God in their misery, and God rescued them from slavery in Egypt. They cried out to Yahweh in their hunger, and God sent them manna. And in this week’s passage, they cry out because they are tired of manna, remembering only the lavish produce in Egypt. They had forgotten the beatings and the ridiculous quotas levied upon them by their Egyptian masters.

How is it with us? Is the grass always greener somewhere else? Do we fall into self-pity and forget the provisions God has bequeathed to us? The readings next week tell of a whiny, complaining people. They highlight humanity’s propensity for finding fault, for forgetting the beauty of the present moment.

This week, let us remember to pause. To consider not those things we lack, but all that we do have. To raise a loud shout to God in praise of God’s creation and in thanksgiving for our place in it.

Yes, now. Do it now.