“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.”
T he crowd who followed Jesus into the wilderness and back to Capernaum seem to have lost patience with the Lord and his elusive manner. They were willing to follow him into the wilderness, and eager to eat the loaves he freely distributed. But they had to wonder where all that bread came from. And then, when they wanted to make him king, he disappointed everyone and "withdrew to the mountain alone."
They didn't understand what Jesus represented, where he was coming from, or where he was going. They couldn't even figure out how he got from the mountain back to Capernaum without boating or walking.
But, if they didn't understand everything about his feeding five thousand people with a few loaves and some fish, they recognized the connection to the wilderness manna. Typically, they credited Moses with providing them with manna when it was precisely that misunderstanding for which the Prophet was punished. He had failed to acknowledge God's superabundant and long-suffering mercy when a boulder provided gushing, potable water.
And now Jesus was talking about "food that endures for eternal life." They didn't want pie in the sky, they wanted something practical, substantial, and predictable. But they saw only the accidents of bread and manna; they missed the substance of the Lord's words. If they had been willing to go with him into the wilderness, they could not follow him into life.
The banquet of Sunday Mass seems very small to most people; it offers nothing more than a very small wafer of flat bread, and the tiniest sip of wine. Were we to offer an entire loaf or a full bottle it might comprise a satisfying meal. It might even be a memorable experience -- you know, like "a life changing EXPERIENCE" -- if the bread were especially sapid and the wine, extraordinary. But what can today's skeptical "Capernaum-ites" make of a prolonged ceremony followed by a brief moment of actual eating and drinking? It seems hardly worth the effort. They want a king and are offered only the Word of God made flesh.
During the past year, many American Catholics have experienced a rebirth of wonder in the Eucharist. They have remembered the Bread of Life, and seen the Lord's presence in the breaking of bread. They recognize the substance that brings them to the consubstantial Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
They recognize and appreciate the gift that cannot be purchased with silver or gold; it is found where moths cannot consume or thieves steal. We do not take the sacrament with our mouths or our hands; we receive it with open hands and outstretched tongues. We know it not as a demonstrable fact; the very idea is nonsense. Rather, we recognize it with the faith which knows, loves, and serves with the heart. We can diligently study this Truth with all the zeal of a doctoral candidate, but we acquire it only as a gift through the superabundant mercy of God.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.