Birds of a Feather

Have you ever owned a Jeep Wrangler? Or ridden in the passenger seat of one? There is no better demonstration of the saying "birds of a feather flock together" then that. I have found that Wrangler drivers find it necessary to acknowledge fellow drivers of the same vehicle to blow the horn, or wave, or somehow acknowledge one another on the road. It's amusing to be certain. Today walking home from the grocery store, a fellow bald man chose to stop me (this was not he first occurrence of this nature) and comment on our common hairstyle...or lack thereof.

These are not uncommon situations. A basic part of our humanity is to rely on similarities with other sin many situations. When I was in Seminary we had common areas of the house, designed to encourage fraternization among fellow Seminarians. It built a sense of community among men who were all going through the same experience, who shared common struggles, and who rejoiced over common victories. It is the same in a Military barracks. For that matter it is the same around the water cooler in an office building. We naturally gravitate towards people with whom we share something in common. In the more serious situations we do so for support.

It is for this reason that Addiction Recovery Programs encourage the community angle of their programs. Support groups for widows, gays, the crippled, the elderly, etc etc are all based on the concept of a community driven effort to work together towards a common goal. These are all well and good, but what do we do when the comfort of others is not enough?

In the First Reading at Mass today, we hear the plight of the Israelites who are walking with Moses through the desert on their 40 year trek to the promised land. They cry and wail about the lack of food, and God send Manna from heaven, a basic bread, to satisfy their needs. God sees in this community that fellowship alone is not going to be enough, so He provides more, but no more then is necessary. The cast of vagabonds are only allowd to retain each day what is required for that meal, and no more, as a demonstration of faith that God will provide more when they need it.

If I were walking with the Israelites I would have not found this to be an acceptable compromise. I would not want to play games. In that setting I am not thinking about faith, I am thinking about realistic concerns that face me on a day to day basis, that must be met. I have needs that must be satisfied. I have a drive for the future that must be acknowledged. To me, Gods answer to my cry from the depths of despair would be viewed as Him playing games. Just give me something to eat without stipulations. Just get me to the Promised Land without delay. Just acknowledge the fact that I am putting my faith in you...and let that be enough.

Today I write this blog with that temperament. It is so easy to loose faith sometimes. Not only in god but in Justice itself. In the very natural order of the universe. The bottom line for us so often is, "look...I cant take anymore." When we offer up this prayer we are told that God will provide exactly what we need, and not a crumb more. In the case of the Israelites it means that He will govern the distribution of the bread from Heaven. In the case of the ambitious it is that He will not grant that promotion. In the case of the "underemployed" he will not provide that raise, those few cents that they don' t necessarily NEED, if they eliminate every cent of excess money that they spend.

The Israelites were God's "Chosen People", so why then did He force them to endure so much torture? Why not just give them all the food they need? Why not provide I faster means of transportation across the desert? Do we really have to suffer every step of the way? Apparently we do. Apparently it is the shoulder of others that we have to rely on. Evidently the tiny droplets of water that God offers when we are on the cusp of dying of thirst and total dehydration, have to be enough to quench our thirst.

Why does God play these games? Perhaps we will never know. Perhaps we will find all out answers in our experiences with others, or upon our own internalization. The bottom line is, while it is true that Birds of a Feather flock together, it is only God who gave them the ability to fly. It is also only God who can provide the sky in which that gift can be expressed.