Wednesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

My sister Cathy and her family
from left
Susie, Lindsay, Ed, Cathy, Jessica, Andy

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 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.”


In Hebrew the word manna means "What is this?" Perhaps it started as a kind of joke but the scriptures always point to something deeper. That stuff on the ground is not just "bread," it's something very mysterious. It's something beyond your imagination, something more wonderful than you have earned or deserved. 
Daily the Hebrews harvested the manna there in the desert. Each day they gathered as much as they needed and no more. They shared it among themselves so no one had too much and no one went hungry. They could not store it for it rotted overnight, except on Friday. On the day before the Sabbath God instructed them to gather twice as much, enough for both Friday and Saturday. 
Thus did God give them their "daily bread," the same substantial food that we ask of God each day. That sojourn in the desert was the people's honeymoon with God and they learned -- or should have learned -- to rely on God for everything they need: food, rest, healing, comfort, protection and so forth. 
Saint Francis, reflecting on the life of Jesus, decided he would live in the same way. Like the birds of the air, he would not store up for tomorrow. He lived "hand to mouth" each day. In the beginning he went through the streets of Assisi with a beggar's bowl, happy to receive whatever the people would give him. After that first evening of experimentation with this technique, he discovered in his bowl an unappetizing slop. Fastidious by nature, he could hardly bear the smell of it, But, he said, it tasted marvelous. Hunger is the best condiment, second only to trust in the Lord. 
Years later, when he taught his friars to eat from "The Table of the Lord" by begging, he insisted they were doing a good work because 1) they needed to learn humility and 2) they gave the villagers the opportunity to be generous. Everybody wins! 
(However, he also taught the young men -- some of whom came from wealthy families and had never worked -- to earn their bread by working quietly. They could accept only food for their work, no money. They begged only when their was no work available.)


This story from Exodus also teaches us about the Eucharist. It is the foundation of the Gospel accounts of Jesus' feeding 3000 and 5000 in the desert, and of his Last Supper. The Eucharist is that greatest of mysteries. It is truly manna (what is this?) from heaven. 
Manna reminds  us that we have not earned or deserved salvation. While we were still in our sins Christ died to give us this bread. On the night before he died  he commanded us to "Take and eat! Take and drink! This is my body. This is my blood." 
We have also heard the commandment, "Listen to him!" We listen to his words in scripture, and we listen to his command. His word is food and drink, flesh and blood. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord. 
Each day, as the saints tell us, we must go to the spring of his word in the scriptures and drink. We must sit at his table and eat.