The Manna in the Desert
June 14, 2020
SOLEMNITY OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST
Dt 8:2-4, 14-16
The Manna in the Desert
Ps 147:12-15, 19-20
Praise the Lord, Jerusalem
1 Cor 10:16-17
Is not this bread participation in Christ?
Jn 6:51-58
This bread is my flesh for the life of the world
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/061420.cfm
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Today the liturgical calendar returns to the feast we used to call Corpus Christi. But this year it is different from any in memory, as we come back to church after a few months of fasting from the sacrament. Now it is in a new and strange format, with outward signs that never used to be there, including sanitizers and face masks. The result is a subtle shift in the meaning, as the symbolism shifts.
But part of that symbolism comes from the Scripture passages that we choose to mark the occasion. There are many references available, so it might be interesting to explore the background of each of today’s readings. What is the context in which these Eucharistic signs are evoked?
The eighth chapter of Deuteronomy contains a line with which we are familiar — “not by bread alone does one live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD.” This is Jesus’ response during the desert temptations, when Satan invites him to change stones into bread, to ease his hunger. In the passage quoted, Moses is reminding the Israelites that they have survived a forty-year desert sojourn because of the protection God has given them. They were allowed to be afflicted to test their resolve, and ground their faith in trust of God. But they were never abandoned.
Jesus finds it a useful quote, as he lets Satan know that the temptation itself is part of the trial. And the trial, once overcome, places his mission on a firm ground. In the feast of Corpus Christi we understand that food is not bread alone, or only. It is the sign of life lived in faith, and a pledge of God’s fidelity, like the manna. And this year especially it has overtones of the desert.
Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 10 is not the only time he mentions the Eucharistic meal in this letter. In chapters 6 and (especially) 11 he has important things to say. In the present case, he has been concerned for three chapters about a division in the Corinthian community between the simple and the sophisticated, the literal and the nuanced — what he calls the weak and the strong. His point, made to the strong, is that they are violating the consciences of the weak when they scandalize them with actions that are fine, but not understood. Paul agrees with the strong, but charges them with causing the weak to violate their consciences.
In today’s passage he concludes the discussion with an appeal to the Eucharistic meal. Those who share the Eucharistic body comprise the one Body of Christ, in the social sense. We participate in the unity of the body, and we need to honor that. So avoid compromising gestures that threaten disunity.
John 6 contains the famous Bread of Life discourse of Jesus, following upon the multiplication of the loaves. Here the manna of Moses is a major symbol. Most of the discussion views the bread as symbol of faith. This is familiar ground, so far. But in the verses quoted today, at the end of the discourse, the focus and the language change. Most commentators see here a shift to the Eucharistic bread.
However, the language is not the customary language of the New Testament for the sacred meal. Instead of “bread and cup,” which is what we find elsewhere, we have “flesh and blood.” Instead of “eat,” we have “gnaw on,” softened in most translations. In other words, the language here is uncomfortably physical. Elsewhere, “flesh” is a negative term, as later in this same chapter, 6:63. In Paul’s writing, Galatians contrasts spirit and flesh, as good and bad. 1 Corinthians speaks of spirit and body, a more favorable term.
Yet in the beginning of the Gospel, announcing the Incarnation, it says, “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The humanity is highlighted.
For reflection: Faith dimensions come together in the Eucharist.
Father Beck is professor emeritus of religious studies at Loras College, Dubuque.
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