Why do people grumble? Why do we murmur?
It is because there is something lacking. There is a feeling of dissatisfaction. There is a need to fill in some more and to be filled up, even to the brim. We do need some more, that is why we grumble and murmur.
Bottomline to all these is discontentment.
To be discontented points out to the “content” that is either absent, or if there is, only a bit or a bit more. Less content, or nothing at all, brings discontentment.
In fact this is so much reflected in the way our stomachs react to lack of food, or when it is empty. Our stomachs grumble. They murmur for more food, for some more content. The wind inside continues to interact with the emptiness therein. And as it bloats us, its only way out is the fart.
That is why we oftentimes hear an almost standard retort, “Take something!” And not just something, but eat some more.
From the biblical perspective, grumbling or murmuring is an expression of disbelief, or lack of faith.
This concept is, in fact, so much developed in the Book of Numbers through the people of Israel’s wanderings in the wilderness. Despite God’s provision of the quail and the manna, the people still continued to crave for the fleshpots of Egypt. As they pursued their journey they never learned, and God continued to test them just as they tested God through their grumblngs and murmurings.
But it did not stop there, though. For the grumblings and murmurings would lead to quarreling.
Today’s gospel reading, John 6:51-58, exactly emphasizes this dynamism in the reaction of the Jews to Jesus’ self-manifestation as the Bread come down from heaven.
After the murmuring and grumbling, they quarreled among themselves (v51). This external outburst brought about the decline of perception into what has been revealed. Thus, the dwindling towards the path of disbelief.
This is basically what happens when things get worse and everything becomes uncontrollably explosive: Silence is destroyed. The content is sacrificed. Confusion spoils the scene. And the truth is marred.
This dynamism of discontentment takes on its course in all aspects of life, as it is part of the growth process.
At the end of the day, it is in learning from such experiences that matters most.
Then we hope to reach a point in time when things begin to clarify through the precious silence that comes from our hearts. And when reality begins to sink in, it teaches us the best content life can offer: God’s presence in the world and in our lives.