There’s a man my mom and I see from time to time walking our dog at Stonehill. And, whenever we ask him how’s he’s doing he’ll always say, "living the dream!" Well, that’s not quite the response of the Israelites from today’s reading. However, in a way, you can sympathize with the Israelites, it’s been a long and difficult journey, without any end in sight.
As someone who loves to eat, I can also imagine how not liking the food could make you grumpy. And, yet we know there must be more to the story, and there is, in fact, this story might parallel different times in our lives.
At this point of Lent, some of us, though doing our best to pray, fast, and give alms, might feel like we’re in a spiritual desert, hungry for strength or peace or something else from God. And our patient endurance might be worn down too.
But this is when we need to remember God’s faithfulness. God led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, perhaps as he has led you or me out of situations where we felt powerless to free ourselves.
And, even when we complain to God, even when we suffer like the Israelites because of their actions, God’s punishment is meant to cause us to change for the better, and not meant to be permanent. I know this is easy to say in retrospect. But, just as God punishes, he also heals, like he directed Moses to provide a remedy from the serpent’s venom. That bronze serpent represents God’s power over all evil and His ability to heal us.
Today’s gospel also offers a parallel. Once again, people are complaining, this time, because they aren’t seeing Jesus for who He is. But, when He is raised up both on the Cross and in the Resurrection, then we see Him as our Savior.
My brothers and sisters, if we feel like complaining today because we’re worn down, we shouldn’t be afraid to turn to Jesus. For, it’s in times of trial that we can appreciate even more deeply a need for a Savior.
When we look at Jesus on the Cross, receive Him in the Eucharist, gaze upon Him in Eucharistic adoration, when we pray a desperate prayer, we can unburden our hearts and minds and in union with Jesus, find a sense of hope, joy, and gratitude as we rediscover His faithful love and presence in our lives.
God has sent Jesus to lift us up, so that whatever is weighing on your heart and mind today, you can have the strength to keep going, following Him, and looking to do the same for others.
And beginning in our families; maybe even be able to say, that with Jesus, "we’re living the dream too!"
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