The other day I was in conversation with one of my confreres about different things, and a comment that could have been understood as murmuring was offered. I can’t remember which one of us made the comment—though I would bet it was probably me—but as soon as the comment was uttered, the image of Christ’s back against the Cross popped into my mind and I offered as much and said, “I guess we don’t have too much to complain about.” As we follow the Israelites on their long journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, one persistent pattern makes itself visible from the start, their incessant grumbling and complaining: “The food is boring. We’re thirsty. This trip is taking too long. Moses, did you just bring us out here in the wilderness to die?” On and on it went. They seem to have forgotten that, not so long before, they were slaves with no prospects beyond being worked to death.

Before we get too self-righteous, let us look inward and check our own reality. Do we even notice the full range of gifts that continue to be ours and the new ones that tumble into our lives entirely unearned every day? Unless we’re quite set in our spiritual lives, we probably don’t see the half of what we are given.  With the half we do see and understand, is there even half the gratitude and joy in us that could and ought to be there. St. Benedict in his Rule warns us against grumbling as leading to the tearing down of community and a movement away from humility. Whether we live out our Christian vocation in this monastic house or in the married or single life, our pursuit is Christ. As we strive toward him our purpose is the building up of that one Body of Christ. May our words and actions glorify the saving work that Christ brings about in us.

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