His Ways Are Not Easy

​A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, August 4th, 2024:
​Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Exodus
16.2-4, 12-15, 31

​The whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The children of Israel said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not.

“I have heard the complaining of the children of Israel; say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”

In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground.

When the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.”

The house of Israel called it manna.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

As I age, I often open my mouth and hear my parents’ words coming out. I find myself saying things like “back in my day …” or “when I was your age ...” followed by some story tinted by the rose-coloured glasses of selective memory. Hearing these stories would lead the listener to believe that I had had an idyllic youth completely devoid of any of the trauma or drama that most young people who grew up in the seventies experienced. I often idealize what the past was really like.

I also find that I can idealize what things were like before I decided to follow the Lord’s will for my life. I remember when I would just take things into my own hands and make them happen. Those rose-coloured glasses cause me to see those events absent of the turmoil and grief that my own actions often caused. Like the Israelites, I complain and grumble when things are taking too long to resolve or aren’t going the way my humanness wants. I forget Who has promised me that if I just trust in Him, my every need will be met daily.

The First Reading is a perfect testament to the importance of throwing away those rose-coloured glasses and trusting in the Lord. The congregation grumbled and complained because they were hungry and thought they would have preferred death to wandering around in the desert starving. They lamented that at least they would have died with full bellies, overlooking the reality that, while they had food, they were slaves. 

When I am faced with a challenge in life, no matter how great or small, my faith tells me that there is nothing to fear. The Lord provided manna to this congregation every day for forty years, and He provided precisely the amount that was needed to nourish and sustain them for the journey to the Promised Land. He didn’t promise that the journey would be easy – nor has He promised me that my journey will always be easy. He has promised that if I trust and have faith He will provide. As Pope Benedict XVI said, “The ways of the Lord are not easy, but we were not created for an easy life, but for great things, for goodness.”

Let us pray: Father God, thank You for Your endless love and generosity. Help me to remember that Your timing is always perfect and to recognize the manna that You provide every day. Amen.



Sandy Graves

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