A
poor man approached a rabbi and told him how miserable things were at home with
him and his family eating and sleeping in one room-house. The rabbi then asked
the poor man a strange question. “Do you own any animals?” “Yes, I have one
cow, one goat and some chickens,” he said. The rabbi said, “When you get home,
take all the animals into your house to live with you.” So he went home and
took all the farm animals into the tiny one-room house.
The
next day the poor man ran back to see the rabbi. He cried, “It’s awful. I did
what you told me and the animals are all over the house! Help me.” The rabbi
listened and said calmly, “Now go home and take the chickens back outside.” The
poor man did as the rabbi said, but hurried back again the next day. He moaned,
“The chickens are gone but the goat is smashing all the furniture and eating
everything in sight!” The rabbi said, “Go home and remove the goat.” So the
poor man went home and took the goat outside. But he ran back again to see the
rabbi crying. “With the cow, it is like living in a stable.” The rabbi said, “Go
home now and take the cow out of your house.” The next day he came running back
to the rabbi again. “O rabbi,” he said smiling, “we have such a good life now.
The animals are all out of the house. The house is so quiet and we’ve got room
to spare. What a joy!”
My
dear friends, the poor man in the story never noticed that he just reverted to
his former state which he used to complain about. His constant whining and complaining
made him blind to see the beauty in his situation. In order to see the beauty
in his life, the poor man had to change the way he looked at things until the
things he looked at changed.
My dear
friends, it is not only what we see, but also the way we see things matters in
life. This is the problem of the people in our Gospel for today (John 6:
41-51). They murmured at Jesus. They complained. To accept Jesus as the Bread
of Life, as the one who came down from heaven, they must stop murmuring first
which they never did. Eventually, they rejected Jesus. They just looked at
Jesus as a son of a carpenter. So they failed to see the Divinity of Jesus
because they refused to change the way they looked at Him.
My dear
friends, today we are called to see things the way God wants us to see them. The
moment we murmur or complain, we eventually forget how God has become good to
us. When we relentlessly complain about our bills and daily expenses, we forget
thanking God for helping us meet our needs. Instead of seeing the goodness of
God, we focus on our problems. Today, before we ask something from God, let us recall
first how God works in our life. Let us learn how to listen first to Jesus before
we begin to speak to Him. If we murmur or complain, and such is left unchecked,
we only displease God. Thus, let us be aware of this attitude. Amen.
