18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
The combined readings from The Book of Exodus and Saint John’s Gospel this Sunday have a common theme: hunger and bread from heaven. The Exodus text is the familiar story of the manna with which God fed his people during their journey in the wilderness, even as they complained when they got tired of it, which led a modern Rabbi to say, “This constant whining is the Israelites’ least attractive trait.” (Rabbi Joseph Telushkin)
What stands out in the Exodus story is that God only sent enough manna for each person daily. No hoarding! (Echoed for us in the prayer the Lord gave us.)
This has profound social implications for us. At a broader level, our daily news and scripture readings must awaken a deep awareness of the tragic unanswered cry of hunger for so many of our brothers and sisters.
The Exodus reading provides a context for understanding the Gospel story. Like the Jews, we, too, are on a journey. Like them, we are hungry for food, too. Like them, we hear words that are now and forever profoundly imprinted in our hearts. Jesus declares that he himself is the bread of life; the bread come down from heaven. Whoever believes in him will never be hungry.
It is precisely because those words mean so much to us that we know we are missioned at our Eucharistic tables where we are fed, to be envoys of Jesus, the bread of life. Inspired by Saint Peter Julian Eymard, whose love for Saint John’s gospel is well known, we proclaim by our lives that the Eucharist is the answer to all our hungers.
Let us Pray:
Lord, give us, and all your children, our daily bread.
