Complaining

Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

- John 6:41-42 NRSV -

A few years ago, a man robbed a Wendy’s in Atlanta, Georgia. The unknown man approached the drive-through at the Wendy's, pointed a gun at the cashier and demanded the cash drawer. Then, he sped away with what he might have believed was a wealth of cash. But, police say that the masked robber later called the Wendy's store twice to complain about the take. In one call, he said "next time there better be more than $586."

However, that’s better than what police say Arthur Bundrage did. Bundrage approached a Syracuse, New York, bank teller and demanded $20,000. When he got home, he discovered he’d been shortchanged. Outraged, he stormed back to the bank to tell them what he thought of their service. That’s when he was arrested.

Complaining is a funny thing, isn’t it?  We all know it.  We all do it.  I have vivid memories of my stepdad stopping my complaints in their tracks saying, “What part of NO do you not understand? The “N” or the “O”?” 

Even the Jews complain.  Jesus has just told them that he is the bread of life, and their response is to grumble and mumble about how he couldn’t possibly be from heaven because they know he is from Bethlehem!

Jesus claps back quickly telling them not to complain.  He reminds him that he is the bread of life, that their ancestors ate the mana in the wilderness and died, and that the bread of heaven (Jesus) is food for those who wish not to die.

Reminding them of the manna story, Jesus is not only talking about the relief of literal hunger, but longing to remind them about the importance of trusting in God. God saved Israel from slavery in Egypt through the waters of the Red Sea (Exodus 14-15). But once in the desert, Israel did not trust God to provide for them. Even so, God provided both food and water throughout their forty years (Exodus 16:35).

Just as the Israelites complained to Moses, so also the Jews complain about Jesus. The grumbling of the crowd characterizes them as the Israelites in the Exodus story. They have experienced God’s salvation and yet do not fully trust in God.

Truthfully, it’s easy to complain. It feels good and requires minimal risk. Yet, sometimes we lose ourselves in our grumbling. The Israelites did, as they got caught up in idolatry while in the wilderness, and many of them never saw the promised land. 

Even so, Jesus doesn’t criticize the manna of the Israelites, but instead, Jesus as manna offers to overcome that part of the story.  Those who come to seek and learn from Jesus are promised a life- giving relationship that endures, sustains, and nourishes us from losing ourselves in our complaints.   When our hungers are so deep and we are dying of thirst, Jesus invites us to set aside our complaints, our grumbling, and our whining to come to the table and just be.  Jesus invites us to the table to eat this new manna, the bread of heaven, and drink from the healing, life-giving stream. May we take up the invitation and be those who do come to the table, instead of those who sit in the corner grumbling.

To Read More: John 6:35-51