Why did you doubt

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary for today bring us to confront the nature of God as transcendent. The Book of Numbers reviews the frustration of Moses with the Israelites who yearn for the fruit and produce of their former lives in Egypt. The cry of Moses and the cry of Peter in the text from the Gospel of Matthew are related. Both are trying to process the great events of liberation and healing they have witnessed. Their minds return to the limited possibilities of our reality. The miraculous events which would point to a Divine Transcendent Presence with them have not sunk in. The psalmist laments, in the voice of God, the failure of the people to listen and hear the Lord as support and rich sustenance are the gracious gifts of the will of God. The people, we, then and now proceed with our “stubborn hearts”.