Monday of the
Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
(Numbers 11:4b-15; Matthew 14:13-21)
When a commodity becomes plentiful and cheap, people are
likely to look for alternatives. At one
time chicken was most families’ favorite food.
They reserved it for Sunday dinner after church to crown their day of
leisure. Today, with mass (and inhumane)
poultry farming, chicken has become relatively inexpensive. Many families prefer steak or salmon for special
occasions. In the first reading
something similar is brewing.
The Israelites have grown tired of the manna which they
have had to eat it every day. They return
to Moses with the absurd complaint that they would have been better off in
Egypt. Moses then goes up to the Lord perplexed
about what to do. He knows that the
people should be grateful. At the same
time he realizes that they are still not holy, still not truly the Lord’s. Moses
himself betrays a rebellious spirit as he attempts to weasel out of God’s
service.
Holiness is a matter of being different. But the difference is not being
individualistic. Rather holiness is
going against the grain of human pride to give oneself completely to God. It is overcoming the tendency to see
ourselves as entitled and recognizing everything as a blessing from God. Then it
is becoming a blessing to others.
