{"id":13242,"date":"2012-08-05T15:02:25","date_gmt":"2012-08-05T22:02:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/?p=13242"},"modified":"2015-03-19T15:39:31","modified_gmt":"2015-03-19T22:39:31","slug":"bread-from-heaven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/2012\/08\/05\/bread-from-heaven\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday Lectionary: Bread from Heaven"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve been on vacation this week so my notes are late and not quite as polished as they are normally.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: 2nd August, 2012<\/h2>\n

Our Readings this week focus again on the subject of sacred food.<\/p>\n

In the First Reading, we read how the Israelites were fed with manna in the desert.\u00a0The manna is also the subject of this week’s Psalm, as psalmist proclaims “The Lord gave them bread from heaven”<\/em><\/span>.\u00a0These are also the words quoted by the crowd who come to Jesus after “The Feeding of the Multitude”<\/em><\/span>. The crowd comes expecting another free meal, but rather than filling their stomachs, Jesus directs them towards deeper spiritual realities, declaring\u00a0Himself<\/span> to be\u00a0“the bread of life” <\/em><\/span>and that “whoever comes…will never hunger,\u00a0and whoever believes…will never thirst”<\/span>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Our understanding of the Second Reading may be illuminated by considering the rite of Baptism in the early centuries of the Church. In preparation for the Sacrament, someone wishing to be baptised would receive a period of instruction. Afterwards, he would then arrive at the Baptismal pool and shed himself of his clothes, symbolically demonstrating that he wished to “put away the old self of [the] former way of life,\u00a0corrupted through deceitful desires”<\/em><\/span>. He would then descend into the baptismal pool where he would be washed in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, “renewed in the spirit of [his] mind”<\/em><\/span>. He would then ascend and be clothed in a white garment to show that he had “<\/span>put on the new self,\u00a0created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth”<\/span>. <\/em>After having been washed in the waters of regeneration, this newly-born Christian would be admitted to the liturgy of the Eucharist where he would finally receive the bread of life.<\/p>\n

We too have been washed in the waters of baptism, we too have been admitted to the altar. \u00a0Let us live our lives this week in the “holiness of truth”<\/span><\/em>\u00a0. We do not receive simply the\u00a0“bread of angels”<\/span><\/em>, but something even greater, “the bread of life”\u00a0<\/span><\/em>\u00a0Himself.<\/p>\n

When, through the hand of the priest, you receive the Body of Christ, think not of the priest which you see, but of the Priest you do not see. The priest is the dispenser of this food, not the author. The Son of man gives Himself to us, that we may abide in Him, and He in us – Alcuin<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Eucharist\"<\/p>\n

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Reading I: Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15<\/h3>\n

Today’s Reading comes from the story of the Exodus. Prior to their leaving Egypt, God declared that Israel was “[His] firstborn son”<\/span><\/em> (Exodus 4:22<\/a>), a description that goes back to Adam. As Israel left Egypt and traveled to Mount Sinai, like Adam, they were tested in the matter of food:<\/p>\n

Test #1:<\/strong> Three days after passing through the Red Sea, the Israelite water supplies were low. They arrived at the waters of “Marah”<\/span><\/em>\u00a0(literally “bitter”<\/span><\/em>), thus named because the water was undrinkable. The people complained and so God instructed Moses to throw a piece of wood into the water, miraculously making it sweet.<\/p>\n

Test #2:<\/strong> This is today’s Reading where the\u00a0Israelites\u00a0complain about the lack of food.\u00a0It takes place about two and half months after leaving Egypt.<\/p>\n

Test #3:<\/strong> Later, the Israelites run out of water again and they once again complain to Moses. God then instructs Moses to strike a rock with his staff and, when as he does this, water gushes forth for the people.<\/p>\n

Our Reading comes from the second of these episodes.<\/p>\n

The whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.\u00a0The Israelites said to them,\u00a0“Would that we had died at the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt,\u00a0as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread!\u00a0But you had to lead us into this desert\u00a0to make the whole community die of famine!”<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Then the LORD said to Moses,\u00a0“I will now rain down bread from heaven for you.\u00a0Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion;\u00a0thus will I test them,\u00a0to see whether they follow my instructions or not.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

“I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites.\u00a0Tell them: In the evening twilight you shall eat flesh,\u00a0and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread,\u00a0so that you may know that I, the LORD, am your God.”<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

In the evening quail came up and covered the camp.\u00a0In the morning a dew lay all about the camp,\u00a0and when the dew evaporated, there on the surface of the desert\u00a0were fine flakes like hoarfrost on the ground.\u00a0On seeing it, the Israelites asked one another, “What is this?”\u00a0for they did not know what it was.\u00a0But Moses told them,\u00a0“This is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.”<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"manna\"Questions:<\/p>\n