I will now rain down bread from heaven for you

Gift

A gift can reveal a lot about the character of the one giving it. Think, for instance, of the grandmother who picks out the “perfect” birthday gift for you.  The gift is wonderful, but even better is the effort your grandmother put into finding it.

Manna, the miracle bread God gave the Israelites during their years in the desert, can tell us a lot about him too.  It tells us that . . .

• God is faithful.  He provided the manna every morning for the entire forty years the Israelites were in the desert.  Each night when they went to bed, they could trust that fresh manna would appear again in the morning.  God never tired or missed a day.  He never failed to provide for them.

• God is generous.  He fed the Israelites even when they were complaining.  He fed them even after they had turned from him and worshiped the golden calf.  He did not withdraw from them.  He graciously gave them the food they needed regardless of whether they were grateful, even regardless of whether they had obeyed him.

• God is present in everyday things.  He sent the manna with the morning dew; it did not look like anything special.  Scripture tells us that it looked “like coriander seed” .  Whatever it was, God used what looked like ordinary matter to provide for his people each and every day.

Just as the Israelites received manna from heaven, we receive the Eucharist, the “true bread from heaven” .   If manna can teach us about who God is, how much more can the Eucharist, which is God’s gift of himself, reveal to us?

In prayer today, consider what the Eucharist shows you about your heavenly Father:

he is humble;

he makes himself present under the forms of “everyday” bread and wine, without fanfare.  He is faithful; he offers himself to you each day at Mass.  He is generous; he gives you heavenly food, not as a reward for something you have done, but because he loves you and wants to sustain you.

“Father, thank you for Jesus, the living Bread from heaven.”

word among us