Greetings on this the Monday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Readings: Nm 11:4b-15; Ps 81:12-13, 14-15, 16-17; Mt 14:13-21
Notes: There is an old parenting joke that goes like this:
Why did G-d make babies so cute?
So that when they are teenagers we don’t kill them.
The LORD provides.
The description given the manna in the reading today actually makes it sound quite tasty. Manna was like coriander seed and had the color of resin. Then cook it in a pot and make it into loaves, which tasted like cakes made with oil.
The seeds are warming and have a slightly nutty and citrus flavor that are intensified when roasted. Coriander seeds can be ground fresh before use or kept whole and added to marinades, sauces, and rubs. Source: https://mountainroseherbs.com/coriander-seed
It seems the manna had many sensory delights. A good cook can make many variations to satisfy.
Side note: How many different shapes of pasta can you name?
But it wasn’t enough.
We all have gone through the teenager period of ‘that wasn’t enough’.
Spoiler alert: The LORD sends an abundant supply of Quail in response but they gorged themselves on it and got sick. He saves them from that too.
Teenager stuff.
Not pointing fingers because, frankly, I am the same. I cannot have just one: chip, snack, soda, cigarette, etc, etc. (quite entirely the cigs).
My menu is cookies, cakes and pies.
That is my flaw among others.
The superabundant manna prefigures the multiplication of the loaves.
Jesus carries the people at his bosom. He was moved for them and had pity on them so he cured their sick and feed them the loaves and fishes.
The supernatural multiplication of the loaves prefigures the Eucharist Bread of Christ.
This is not foreign to us, conceptually.
- If you take a tree and cut and shape it into a chair, it remains a tree – the appearance changes, the substance remains tree.
- If you electrocute an animal, it is no longer an animal but a corpse – the appearance remains the same, the substance has changed.
What remains is the transubstantiation: Bread to Body and Wine to Blood.
The appearance remains the substance changes.
Moses – Carry them at my bosom.
Jesus – Carry them at my bosom.
You and me – Carry them at my bosom.
First Reading
The children of Israel lamented, “Would that we had meat for food! We remember the fish we used to eat without cost in Egypt, and the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now we are famished; we see nothing before us but this manna.”
Moses to the LORD: you tell me to carry them at my bosom.
Responsorial
Sing with joy to God our help.
Gospel Acclamation
One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
Gospel
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. He said to them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.”
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied.
Peace be with you,
Deacon Gerry