We have hearing from Exodus these last several weeks in our daily Masses. For the next four days, we will hear from the book of Numbers, the next book after Exodus in the Pentateuch in the Old Testament. The title “Numbers” comes form the beginning of the book where a census of the people is described.
The Israelites are still wandering in the wilderness. The Israelites are angry because they don’t have the foods that they had back in Egypt. They are reduced to eating the terrible tasting mana that the lord provides for them. Poor Moses feels trapped in the middle. The Israelites lash out at him, but God is also angry at what is going on as well.
We can grumble and complain ourselves, can’t we? I remember that when I came back to the United States from being in Ecuador, when I worked in the jungle as a missionary for three years, I struck how much we Americans can complain about things, even though we have so many opportunities and so many material possessions compared to so many people in so many parts of the world. I had recently heard a podcast by a man who thought of one blessing he was thankful for each day for 1,000 days. He did this after he had gone through a very terrible time in his life. It reminded him of the importance of counting his blessings. Yes, indeed, in the midst of crisis and strife, it is difficult to see our blessings. But our blessings are indeed there.
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