19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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.