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From the Desktop of the Pastor – Week of the 11th Sunday after Pentecost

Hi everyone,

Man alive it is HOT.  I’m sure anyone who is reading this today knows exactly what I’m talking about.  At least, all the stores that are sold out of fans and air conditioners know what I’m talking about.

The thing about this heat is that we will complain that it is too hot.  We will do everything we can to keep cool because it is actually too hot.  But mostly we will complain because really, it is too hot.  Until it cools down, that is…

And then it’s too cool.  It’s too wet.  It’s too dry.  It’s too humid.  It’s too whatever-it-is-just-outside-of-our-very-small-comfort-zones-enough-to-make-us-want-to-complain.

Of course, not all of us are this whiny and complain-y.  But we do have our set of beliefs of what is “right” and “comfortable” and “how it should be.”  And when things don’t line up, then we are uneasy, we are unsettled, we are unsure as to how we’ll manage until things go back to “right” and “comfortable” and “how it should be.”

The thing is, maybe our situations don’t need to change to suit our wants, but that our wants might change to suit our situations.

Here are the readings for next week:
Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15
Psalm 78:23-29
Ephesians 4:1-16
John 6:24-35

There’s no shortage of complaining in these passages, I tell ya.  I get it though, I often complain when I am hungry as well.  My kids do, my friends do, basically everyone I’ve ever known has at least once in our interactions together complained about how hungry they are at one point in their lives.  And it makes sense because we need food to live, that is just how we’re built.  So when we are hungry, our bodies are just telling us to feed it.  That kind of complaining is hard to do anything about (aside from getting some food).

I think the message though isn’t that we should stop complaining, but rather instead recognise what we already have in life and be thankful for that.  It is hard sometimes, I agree, but I don’t think any of us living in North America can say that our lives are all bad, all the time.
Feel too hot?  Maybe you can find a place to cool down, be it in your backyard, your basement, or your bathtub.
Feel too cold?  Maybe you have access to warmer clothing to put on and warm up.
Feel too hungry? Maybe you’re lucky enough to have readily available food that might not always taste great, but is edible.
Feel too whatever-it-is-just-outside-of-our-very-small-comfort-zones-enough-to-make-us-want-to-complain?  Maybe you have a God who is willing to help, to provide, and to grant peace.
Oh wait, you do.  Jesus, the bread of life, nourishes our souls and fills our lives, revealing to us the love and peace that surpasses all understanding.
Thanks be to God!  Have a great week, everyone!

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