Reading I: Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15
Reading II: Ephesians 4:17, 20-24
Gospel: John 6:24-35
Being Bread for Others (or “What’s a Manna You?”)
For many children in the United States, it would be great to be a kid forever! You’d never have to worry about work deadlines, chauffeuring kids to and from school and other activities, or how you were going to pay for everything. All would simply be provided for you.
In today’s readings we see that it’s natural to yearn for those kinds of “good old days” and hope that God continues to provide for us, even when we grow up.
Thinking Outside The Box
One of the great things about kids is that they like to play with just about anything. If you have a child who tends to get into everything, then this could be a problem; but generally a child’s imagination lends itself to cheap toys.
For example, when I was kid, I liked to play in a box. I don’t even know when my parents got the new end table, but it seems like I played in that box forever. It was my own private world when I was inside it. I would “read” books inside it. I played with my toys inside it. And I ate my meals inside it.
I was the king of the box and everything I needed was provided for me. I never stopped to think about how these things were provided for me; they were just there when I needed them.
Used To Second Best
In a way, the Israelites of Moses’ time and the Jews of Jesus’ time were like me and my box. They had confined their worldview to just themselves. They were only concerned about what they needed. Sure they might have been trapped within the box of slavery or the yoke of being second-class citizens, but at least their masters fed them. It was all they knew – and they were used to it.
When the Israelites wandered in the desert, they got mad at Moses. He offered freedom, but it came with a price. In the same way, following Jesus seemed to bring little reward and a lot of hard work.
Manna In The Wilderness
But both the Israelites and the Jews did receive a lot while in the wilderness. God provided manna for the Israelites to eat, and Jesus gives of himself as the Bread of Life so that all may be nourished.
All of us go through our own times in the wilderness. These are the times when life seems monotonous and without purpose. These are the times when we feel as if no one really knows us and if they did, they wouldn’t like us. These are the times when we feel as if we’ve made too many mistakes.
But God offers us hope. It isn’t a cure to all of our problems. It isn’t going to magically make us feel better. But it is a day-to-day commitment to be with us and be within us. When we celebrate the Sacrament of the Eucharist, we are reminded that God very much wants to be a part of our lives.
By our Baptism, it is our mission to be “manna in the wilderness” for others. It is our mission to feed them with a meal when they have none. It is our mission to feed them with words of wisdom when they don’t know what to do. It is our mission to feed them with compassion so that they may feel that they can start over again when they fail.
We don’t live our lives inside boxes. In fact, sometimes we’re wandering in the wilderness. But sometimes we see the ways that God is feeding us in our lives and we’re called to pass on this tasty goodness to others. As Christians, will we answer the call to be bread for others?
Life Applications:
What is your personal “wilderness” that you are wandering in right now?
How has God been like manna to you?
How have you been manna to others?
Original article by Nick Popadich, 2003-2021.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.