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"The Gathering of the Manna”
by Guido Reni, 1614-15 |
Readings for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time [2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
Readings and Commentary:[4]
Reading 1: Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15
The whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
The Israelites said to them,
“Would that we had died at the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt,
as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread!
But you had to lead us into this desert
to make the whole community die of famine!”
Then the LORD said to Moses,
“I will now rain down bread from heaven for you.
Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion;
thus will I test them,
to see whether they follow my instructions or not.
“I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites.
Tell them: In the evening twilight you shall eat flesh,
and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread,
so that you may know that I, the LORD, am your God.”
In the evening quail came up and covered the camp.
In the morning a dew lay all about the camp,
and when the dew evaporated, there on the surface of the desert
were fine flakes like hoarfrost on the ground.
On seeing it, the Israelites asked one another, “What is this?”
for they did not know what it was.
But Moses told them,
“This is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.”
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Commentary on Ex 16:2-4, 12-15
Having successfully escaped from Egypt and Pharaoh’s army, the Israelites now find themselves in difficult surroundings with little food. God's initial anger at the ungrateful people is turned to mercy. In response to their plight, God feeds them through the auspices of Moses, by providing manna to sustain them. This “bread from heaven” is seen as a gift from God; the manna is said to come down from the sky.(see also Psalm 78:25; Wisdom 16:20). This manna is later compared by Christ to the Eucharist he offers (see John 6: 31ff). This selection is a contraction of a longer dialogue between God, Moses, and the Hebrews being led out of Egypt. Even after the miracle of manna, they are still not satisfied and in later verses they complain about manna as well, asking for meat to eat. Once again, God's initial indignation at the greed of the people gives way to compassion and he sends quail for them to eat. (See also Numbers 11:1-35.)
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 78:3-4, 23-24, 25, 54
R. (24b) The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
What we have heard and know,
and what our fathers have declared to us,
We will declare to the generation to come
the glorious deeds of the LORD and his strength
and the wonders that he wrought.
R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
He commanded the skies above
and opened the doors of heaven;
he rained manna upon them for food
and gave them heavenly bread.
R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
Man ate the bread of angels,
food he sent them in abundance.
And he brought them to his holy land,
to the mountains his right hand had won.
R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
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Commentary on Ps 78:3-4, 23-24, 25, 54
Psalm 78 is a historical recital recounting the encounter of the Israelites with God, their rejection of his gifts, and the punishments for these rejections. In this selection the psalmist recalls the journey in the wilderness, and the people's anger at God for leading them on without food. God answered their plea with manna (Exodus 16:1ff).
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Reading II: Ephesians 4:17, 20-24
Brothers and sisters:
I declare and testify in the Lord
that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do,
in the futility of their minds;
that is not how you learned Christ,
assuming that you have heard of him and were taught in him,
as truth is in Jesus,
that you should put away the old self of your former way of life,
corrupted through deceitful desires,
and be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
and put on the new self,
created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth.
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Commentary on Eph 4:17, 20-24
St. Paul begins this passage of his letter to the Ephesians by describing the hope in the resurrection brought to them in Christ. This hope was absent in those who lived out of intellect (see also Wisdom 3:2-5). He goes on to point out that those who were “taught in him, as truth is in Jesus” (that is, those who received authentic teaching about Christ) live in the spirit as opposed to the flesh. He enjoins them to renew that spirit, to “put on the new self.”
"The sacred text emphasizes two basic points--one's duty to put off one's 'old nature' (the 'old man') and, in parallel with that, the urgent need to put on the 'new nature' (the 'new man'). These two expressions refer directly to the symbolism of Christian baptism, which effects the transition from the life of sin to the life of grace, thanks to the merits of Christ (cf. Romans 6:3-11)." [5]
CCC: Eph 4:23 1695; Eph 4:24 1473, 2475, 2504
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Gospel: John 6:24-35
When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they themselves got into boats
and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
And when they found him across the sea they said to him,
“Rabbi, when did you get here?”
Jesus answered them and said,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
you are looking for me not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”
So they said to him,
“What can we do to accomplish the works of God?”
Jesus answered and said to them,
“This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”
So they said to him,
“What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?
What can you do?
Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:
He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”
So Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven;
my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.”
So they said to him,
“Sir, give us this bread always.”
Jesus said to them,
“I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
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Commentary on Jn 6:24-35
This dialogue with the people begins St. John’s great discourse on the bread of life. In this selection Jesus begins by telling the crowd, which had just been witness to the feeding of the multitude with the barley loaves, that they should focus on spiritual food rather than filling their stomachs. His reference here is that through their belief in him as the Son of God, they are doing God’s will.
The people misunderstand and think Jesus is asking for faith in order to perform a sign (see also Mark 8:11, Matthew 16:1, and Luke 11:16). The Jews in dialogue with Jesus refer to the favor shown by God, as in the desert following the exodus, God showered manna upon the people. They quote Nehemiah 9:15, again seeking physical bread when Jesus is offering the spiritual. In this selection St. John provides the most solemn of statements by Jesus which are unambiguous statements about his real presence in the Eucharist: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” In this offer, Jesus provides sustenance for the spirit while physical bread only supports the mortal body.
CCC: Jn 6 1338; Jn 6:26-58 2835; Jn 6:27 698, 728, 1296; Jn 6:32 1094; Jn 6:33 423
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Reflection:
Perhaps you have heard the saying: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and he’ll sit out in a boat drinking beer all day.”
All kidding aside, there is a connection between that poor joke and the verse from Scripture today:
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
you are looking for me not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.”
Just before this dialogue between Jesus and the crowds following him took place, Jesus had blessed some barley loaves and a few fish and miraculously fed five thousand people. Jesus is looking at them now and telling them that they are not really interested in what that meant. They were only interested in seeing more of these amazing events. Many of the people who had reclined and eaten their fill were not seeking God; they wished simply to be entertained by this holy man from Galilee.
In many ways they were no different than the Hebrews who were hungry in the desert. They went to Moses asking themselves why they had been convinced to leave the relative safety of slavery in Egypt. They were not seeking God’s will when they came to him and challenged him. They were thinking they were hungry and tired and afraid. And when the miracle did occur and manna was found on the ground, enough to feed them, enough to attract other game so they would not starve, they were not grateful for long. Their awe and gratitude faded with their hunger.
St. Paul saw this human response and wrote to the Ephesians concerning the transformation they had to undergo as they united themselves in Christ and gave up the purely hedonistic life of the flesh. He reminded them that it was Christ who brought them hope that stemmed from his own resurrection. Hope was in the Eucharist, the living symbol of Christ’s promised salvation that offered them the peace of life in the spirit.
This interchange forces us to look in a mirror and ask ourselves a question. In a few moments, Father will recreate that miracle. Simple bread and wine will be placed on the altar and as we all call out in prayer that the Lord will accept the sacrifice at his hands, our prayer will be answered and the essence of what we see will change. The bread becomes the body of the Risen Christ the wine, in essence, his Blood.
Father will raise the cup and the bread and affirm that what we asked for, the sacrifice that Jesus offers, has been accepted once more and that what he holds in his hands is the bread of life that takes away the sins of the world. The question we now ask is, what did we come to see as the Blessed Sacrament is elevated? Do we see the hope of salvation? Do we see our spiritual sustenance? Or is it just part of the Mass – sort of the hump that begins us thinking about the rest of the weekend?
“What do you see in the Eucharist?” It is an intensely person question. For Catholics it is much more than a simple ritual. We believe the miracle of the loaves is dwarfed by the enormity of what takes place in the consecration of the Eucharist. It is apparent in how we act in the presence of the sacrament. It is central not only to our worship but in our spiritual lives because it is more than food, more than a symbol. It is the absolute assurance that all God promised is true and real.
“What do you see in the Eucharist?” St. Thomas failed that question the first time when he was told – “We have seen the Lord” in the locked room. It was only when he finally recognized the Lord that he responded, “My Lord and my God.” Jesus understood that it would be difficult for those who had not seen him to have faith and believe. His parting gift, the gift he gave to the disciples at their Last Supper, insured that anyone who believed and had faith would also be able to see that real presence.
One final time we ask ourselves: what did we come to see? Do we see the signs and think only of what we can get from it, or do we see the great love of God expressed in the sacrifice of His Son? One final question relating back to my initial joke; do we fish so that we may feed ourselves and others? Or do we sit in the boat and drink beer?
Pax
[1] Catechism links are taken from the
Homiletic Directory, published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture is "The Gathering of the Manna” by Guido Reni, 1614-15.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] The Navarre Bible, Letters of St. Paul, Four Courts Press, 2003, p. 397.
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