When Moses heard the people, family after family, crying at the entrance of their tents, so that the LORD became very angry, he was grieved.
“Why do you treat your servant so badly?” Moses asked the LORD. “Why are you so displeased with me that you burden me with all this people? (Numbers 11:10-11 NABRE)
Being human is hard! We are so bound by the pains, anxieties, frustrations, distractions, and difficulties of this life that we are prone to slip into discontent, complaining, and destructive behavior. The Israelites were no different while they roamed in the desert. Having manna from God which they made into bread was a miracle, but after a while, they wanted variety, they wanted meat, and they complained, bitterly we're told.
And Moses, chosen as the head of this ungrateful and unappreciative group, was tired and at his wits end. He could not understand why God would have put him in this position. After all, he didn't ask for it. He didn't want it. But God's plan for Moses put him in this role anyway, and now it had gotten difficult, perhaps even more difficult than confronting Pharaoh had been.
If we read a few lines further into the chapter, we see Moses put it this way, "I cannot carry all this people by myself, for they are too heavy for me. If this is the way you will deal with me, then please do me the favor of killing me at once, so that I need no longer face my distress." (Numbers 11:14-15)
Lord, when I am distressed beyond my means, please carry me. When I cannot lift the burden you give me, please lift it for me. Lord, help me to turn over to you all my cares this day, so that on that day when I am crushed by my grief, I will have established the habit of turning to you first in times of need.
Today, I will remember to turn to the Lord regardless of my mood.
Saint Peter Julian Eymard, who said the Eucharist is the life of the people, pray for us.
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