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.”
John 6:24, 30-35
When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they themselves got into boats
and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus….
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.”
Today’s first reading is from Exodus, about the wandering Israelites who were whining, grumbling and complaining. But God, being a loving father, sent down quail for dinner and a special bread, manna, for breakfast.
Manna is described “a fine, flake-like thing” (Exodus 16:14) like frost on the ground. It came with dew in the night (Numbers 11:9), and had to be collected before it was melted by the heat of the sun (Exodus 16:21). Like a coriander seed in size but white in color (Exodus 16:31), the manna had the appearance of bdellium, a translucent oleo-gun resin extracted from thorn trees. Raw manna tasted like wafers that had been made with honey (Exodus 16:31). The Israelites ground the manna, pounded it into cakes, which were then baked, resulting in something that tasted like cakes baked with oil (Numbers 11:8).
Unlike the Israelites, we’re not wandering in the desert, without a home. Unlike the Israelites, we’re not starving. Even the jobless and the poor in America get a monthly check from the taxpayers. In fact, too many of us are fat.
But, despite all that we have, like the Israelites, we, too, whine, grumble and complain.
Constantly.
Even when the real manna from Heaven, the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, is made available to us.
And we still whine, grumble and complain.
Incessantly.
Let’s do something different this morning.
Instead of whine, grumble and complain, we thank God for all the many, countless good things He’s given us: the gift of life, a functioning body, a roof over our head, clothes on our body, more food than we need, family and friends, pets who love us unconditionally . . . .
Thank Him and tell Him you love Him.
Praise Him, and be joyful!
See also the Eucharistic miracle of Lanciano here.
May the peace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you!
~E