Word to the Wise
Wednesday, July 21, 2021 - Wednesday in the 16th Week in Ordinary Time
[Exod 16:1-5, 9-15 and Matt 13:1-9]In the morning a dew lay all about the camp, and then the dew evaporated, there on the surface of the desert were fine flakes like hoarfrost on the gourd. On seeing it, the children of Israel asked one another, "What is this?" for they did not know what it was. But Moses told them, "This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat." [Exodus]
The story of the "manna from heaven" would have profound significance for the understanding of the Christian community in regard to Jesus' identity and the Eucharist. I recommend to the Beloved Congregation that you read John 6:31-51 in which Jesus compares the manna in the desert to his very self and how he becomes the "bread from heaven." In that dialogue in the Gospel According to John, which likely reflected the experiences of the community in being expelled from their synagogues, the narrative in the Book of Exodus is given a symbolic meaning. Jesus becomes the "new manna." The old manna delivered the children of Israel from the physical hunger. of present life. (Even so, a sample of the manna was collected to put in the Ark of the Covenant to serve as a reminder!) Ex. 16:33.) The "new manna" will give eternal life which we celebrate in the Eucharist.
In addition to this particularly important story of the manna (and the quail), I fike to look to the broader narrative of God-Moses-Children of Israel. It is in this broader perspective that the remarkable character of Moses emerges and why the Gospel According to Matthew, makes a point of portraying Jesus as a "new Moses." This is one more reminder to us that the Old Testament is not a scriptural museum piece but a part of a living tradition that we celebrate at each Eucharist. The full significance of Jesus as the "bread of life" is found when we go to the roots of it in God's plan of salvation. AMEN