The Bread of Heaven: People still ask: “What is it?” – Then Argue About It
Looking at what the Bible tells us about the Eucharist
“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day.’”
~ Exodus 16:4
Upon seeing the “bread from heaven” / the manna from heaven, the people did not know what it was –
“When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, ‘What is it?’ For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, ‘It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.’”
~ Exodus 16:15
“the word ‘manna’ is explained as deriving from the Israelites’ question ‘What is it?’ (Heb. מָן הוּא, man hu).”
~ L. Cross and Elizabeth A. Livingstone, eds., The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), 1034.
“Now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.”
~ Exodus 16:31
The manna – the bread from heaven – was their food and sustenance from God during their sojourn in the wilderness –
“The people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan.”
~ Exodus 16:35
The manna – the bread from heaven – transformed itself to the needs of the people.
(Μετεκιρνᾶτο, ‘changed itself.’
~ William J. Deane, The Book of Wisdom: The Greek Text, the Latin Vulgate, and the Authorized English Version: Commentary (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1881), 201.)
“For your sustenance manifested your sweetness toward your children;
and the bread, ministering to the desire of the one who took it,
was changed (Μετεκιρνᾶτο) to suit everyone’s liking.”
~ Wisdom of Solomon 16:21
Additionally, the manna – the bread from heaven – preserves those who trust the word of God –
“Therefore at that time also, changed into all forms,
it served your all-nourishing bounty,
according to the desire of those who made supplication,
so that your sons, whom you loved, O Lord, might learn
that it is not the production of crops that feeds mankind,
but that your word preserves those who trust in you.”
~ Wisdom of Solomon 16:25–26
Manna – Bread from Heaven – Given by God to sustain His people during their sojourn in the wilderness. Manna – Bread from Heaven – that transforms itself in order to meet the needs of the people who make supplications to God. Manna – the Bread from Heaven – relies on faith in the word of God for its efficacy in preserving the people.
Jesus is the Word of God –
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. …
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
~ John 1:1–14
The people challenged Jesus calling for a sign –
“Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
~ John 6:30–31
Jesus replied –
“I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
~ John 6:48–51
When the people rejected the idea of eating Jesus’ flesh, He emphasized the need to eat His flesh and drink His blood rather than explain away His words –
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.”
~ John 6:53–57
In the Last Supper, Jesus both established the Eucharist (in which the bread is changed into the Body and Blood of Christ to meet the needs of those who offer supplications) and He indicated that it is for the disciples while they continue to sojourn in the wilderness of earthly life –
“[Jesus] took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, ‘Take; this is my body.’ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.’”
~ Mark 14:22–25
The belief that the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Christ existed beginning with the Apostles and is evident in the writings of the Apostle Paul –
“The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?”
~ 1 Corinthians 10:16
The sacrifice made by Jesus on our behalf is necessary for our salvation, and we participate in/receive Christ’s sacrifice by faithful supplications –
“the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.”
~ Romans 3:22–25
The faithful receiving does not mean that the Eucharist is symbolic (as some claim). Receiving by faith is required so that a person can receive worthily and be blessed, rather than harmed, by the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist –
“Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the Lord’s body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.”
~ 1 Corinthians 11:27–30
The Eucharist is the Bread from Heaven, dependent on Jesus, who is the Word of God, which changes itself to meet the sacrificial needs (being the Body and Blood of Jesus – the one true and perfect sacrifice) of the faithful making supplications unto God, for the sake of our spiritual sustenance while on our sojourn through the wilderness of our earthly lives.
Yet people look at the Eucharist and still ask: Manna – What is this?
They join the ranks of those who said –
“This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”
~ John 6:60
Doing so, they no longer follow Jesus –
“After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with Jesus.”
~ John 6:66
Believe what the Bible says – Believe the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Christ – the Bread from Heaven – Given as a sacrifice for the remission of your sins, and be nourished for your sojourn of life.
Buen Camino,
Fr Steve