The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to accept the invitation of the Spirit to live fully in the greater reality of Presence with us that offers a journey in relationship with God.
In the reading from Exodus, God provides The Quail and the Manna.
* [16:4] Bread from heaven: as a gift from God, the manna is said to come down from the sky. Cf. Ps 78:24–25; Wis 16:20. Perhaps it was similar to a natural substance that is still found in small quantities on the Sinai peninsula—probably the honey-like resin from the tamarisk tree—but here it is, at least in part, clearly an extraordinary sign of God’s providence. With reference to Jn 6:32, 49–52, the Christian tradition has regarded the manna as a type of the Eucharist. Test: as the text stands, it seems to leave open the question whether the test concerns trusting in God to provide them with the daily gift of food or observing the sabbath instructions.
* [16:15] What is this: the Hebrew man hu is thus rendered by the ancient versions, which understood the phrase as a popular etymology of the Hebrew word man, “manna”; but some render man hu, “This is manna.” (Exodus, CHAPTER 16 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 78 contrasts God’s Goodness and Israel’s Ingratitude
* [Psalm 78] A recital of history to show that past generations did not respond to God’s gracious deeds and were punished by God making the gift into a punishment. Will Israel fail to appreciate God’s act—the choosing of Zion and of David? The tripartite introduction invites Israel to learn the lessons hidden in its traditions (Ps 78:1–4, 5–7, 8–11); each section ends with the mention of God’s acts. There are two distinct narratives of approximately equal length: the wilderness events (Ps 78:12–39) and the movement from Egypt to Canaan (Ps 78:40–72). (Psalms, PSALM 78 | USCCB, n.d.)
The reading from the Book of Ephesians contrasts the Old Life and the New.
* [4:17–24] Paul begins to indicate how the new life in Christ contrasts with the Gentiles’ old way of existence. Literally, the old self (Eph 4:22) and the new self (Eph 4:24) are “the old man” and “the new man” (anthrÅpos, person), as at Eph 2:15; cf. note on Eph 4:13.
* [4:24] Put on: in baptism. See note on Gal 3:27. (Ephesians, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of John, Jesus begins the Bread of Life Discourse.
* [6:22–71] Discourse on the bread of life; replacement of the manna. Jn 6:22–34 serve as an introduction, Jn 6:35–59 constitute the discourse proper, Jn 6:60–71 portray the reaction of the disciples and Peter’s confession.
* [6:23] Possibly a later interpolation, to explain how the crowd got to Capernaum.
* [6:27] The food that endures for eternal life: cf. Jn 4:14, on water “springing up to eternal life.”
* [6:31] Bread from heaven: cf. Ex 16:4, 15, 32–34 and the notes there; Ps 78:24. The manna, thought to have been hidden by Jeremiah (2 Mc 2:5–8), was expected to reappear miraculously at Passover, in the last days. (John, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB, n.d.)
Barbara Dilly asks what does it mean to live in the futility of our own minds? Most of us already know the answer to this question. It means being left to our own devices based on untruths and too little or unclear information about the circumstances in our lives.
All the lessons today speak to me of the hope that the Lord will help us in challenging times with the wisdom and truth of his word. Moses taught the Israelites to trust God to provide more than just food in their unfamiliar circumstances. They learned to follow God’s instructions, to do as they were taught. The Psalm refers to this story when it declares the strength of the Lord that gives us what we need in the form of heavenly bread. Matthew reminds us again that we live not by bread a lone, but by God’s word. And Jesus could not be clearer when he refers to the same wilderness story. Jesus is the bread of God that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. This is how we learn of Christ. This is how he teaches us. We are to be renewed by the bread of life, which is the truth in Jesus. That still does not give us any clear answers for complicated questions, but it gives us clear directions about how to ask them and to be open to being transformed by the answers. That gives me hope that in these times of great uncertainty and a great many falsehoods, we can navigate life in righteousness and holiness of truth if we listen closely to the truth that is in Jesus. (Dilly, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “God is our landlord,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"Our wish, you see, is to attain to eternal life. We wish to reach the place where nobody dies, but if possible we do not want to get there via death. We would like to be whisked away there while we are still alive and see our bodies changed, while we are alive, into that spiritual form into which they are to be changed when we rise again. Who wouldn't like that? Isn't it what everybody wants? But while that is what you want, you are told, Quit. Remember what you have sung in the psalm: 'A lodger am I on earth.' If you are a lodger, you are staying in someone else's house; if you are staying in someone else's house, you quit when the landlord bids you. And the landlord is bound to tell you to quit sooner or later, and he has not guaranteed you a long stay. After all, he did not sign a contract with you. Seeing that you are lodging with him for nothing, you quit when he tells you to. And this, too, has to be put up with, and for this, too, patience is very necessary." (excerpt from Sermon 359A,8) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15 comments that it can be a challenge to recognize how God is providing for us, especially if our prayers aren’t answered in the way we desire. Or when our hearts are set on one thing, but God gives us something different. And when God provides for us in ways we don’t expect, we might ask, “What is this?”
Nowhere is this more clear than when we receive the Eucharist at Mass. What might look like simple bread and wine is actually Jesus himself, who heals, forgives, and brings life. We might come to Mass looking for one thing, only to find that Jesus offers us something deeper. We want answers, but he gives us his very self. We want a way out of a problem, but he gives us his grace to walk through it. In this unlikely form of bread and wine, we find the One who is the answer to all of our needs!
So let’s trust that God knows the sustenance we need. He hears the cries of our hearts and he provides for us in ways we could never imagine. Let’s open our hearts to receive the Bread of Life that he gives us today!
“Jesus, help me to receive what you provide for me.” (Meditation on Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler reflects on the texts for today.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, considers the presence of so many evils in the world and God’s solidarity with suffering. Theodicy is a branch of theology that has developed many arguments on how there can be a good God, or a just God in the presence of so much evil in the world—about which “God” appears to do nothing.
The evidence is overwhelming that God fully allows and does not stop genocides, child abuse, brutal wars, unspeakable human and animal suffering, the imprisonment of the innocent, sexual assaults and enslavement, the death of whole species and civilizations, and the tragic lives of addicts and their codependents. Further, God seems to at least “allow” the “natural” disasters of drought, flood, hurricane, tornado, tsunami, plague, famine, and painful diseases of every kind, many of which we call “acts of God,” and all of which have made much of human life “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” [1] What are we to do with this?
For me, there is a workable and loving way through this. If God is somehow in the suffering, also participating as a suffering object, in full solidarity with the world that God created, then I can make some possible and initial sense of God and this creation. Only if we’re joining God, and God is joining us, in something greater than the sum of all its parts, can we find a way through all of this. Trust in the crucified—and resurrected—Jesus has indeed “saved” many. [2] (Rohr, n.d.)
We invoke the Spirit to open our minds and hearts to the greater reality of the mystical Presence of God on our journey through which we live the fullness of life.
References
Dilly, B. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. OnlineMinistries. Retrieved August 4, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/080424.html
Ephesians, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 4, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ephesians/4
Exodus, CHAPTER 16 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 4, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/exodus/16
John, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 4, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/6
Meditation on Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved August 4, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/08/04/1041224/
Psalms, PSALM 78 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 4, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/78
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Surviving with Jesus. Retrieved August 4, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/surviving-with-jesus/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 4, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=aug4
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