The Life Giving Meal

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today focus attention on life and the role of the meal in sustaining life. The passage from the Book of Exodus describes the Passover meal which marked the passage of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to the journey leading them to the “promised land”. The Passover continues to be celebrated as a meal which continues to bring spiritual life to celebrants. The psalmist praises an understanding of the Divine that “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful ones”. (Psalm 116:15) These words remind us that many precious ones are dying in the world due to drought, disease and disaster. The comments of some of the wealthy who seem reluctant to respond to the desperate need and dismiss it as the way nature controls population truly tells of a deeper spiritual death. The Gospel of Matthew presents the tension between the traditions, customs and ethics of a society and the primacy of the Divine mind which communicates the message “But if you had known what this means, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice”, you would not have condemned the guiltless” (Matthew 12:7). The Eucharist continues Jesus Passover where the deepest intimacy with the Divine through “Living Bread” is the food to sustain and activate the Body of Christ to respond to the hungers of the world.