Reflections
Psalm 78: 3-4, 23-24, 25, 54 (Read)
“The Lord gave them bread from heaven.”
Our Psalm this Sunday is once again
about our spiritual and physical food
that we receive from the Lord.
Just as the Israelites of old were fed
when the Lord, “Rained down manna
upon them for food,” so too we are fed
today with the body and blood of our Savior
in the sacrament of the Eucharist.
But are we worthy? Are we deserving
of this heavenly food, that comes to us
through the passion of our Lord,
the sacrifice of God's only Son?
Over and over again our spiritual ancestors
turned away from God and were deceitful
despite the “glorious deeds of the Lord
and the wonders that he wrought” on their behalf.
Must we too be chastised before
we repent and turn back to God?
Our own history isn't much different
from that of our ancestors –
a cycle of divine grace; followed by ingratitude;
then punishment; then renewed generosity.
We are obliged to repeat the history
of our ancestors, and in the end we are
at the mercy of God. In fact, without His grace
where would we obtain our 'daily bread'?
Do we grumble until our prayers are answered?
Do we persist in putting God to the test?
Are we grateful for the food we receive
from the Lord? Or are we quick to forget
what the Lord has done for us?
St Paul tells us that we really do need
to repent and that we should, “Put away
the old self of our former way of life,
corrupted through deceitful desires, and
put on the new self.” (Ephesians 4:22-24)
And having repented, we are ready
to receive that precious bread from heaven.
Like the crowd at Capernaum (John 6: 34-35),
we plead with Jesus to give of Himself
to us each day, so that we may eat of
the bread of life and never hunger again.
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. Our psalmist promises, "We will declare to the generation
to come the glorious deeds of the Lord." What part have you played
in passing on your faith to the next generation?
2. Our Psalm speaks of the Lord bringing His people to "His holy land,
to the mountains His right hand has won." What does it take for you
to be able to climb the mountain of the Lord?
The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
ReplyDeleteJust as the Israelites were fed in the desert with manna which rained downed upon them, God was faithful as He is faithful today to us. Even though we are not worthy or deserving to be fed, God who is full of grace, still provides us daily bread, the bread of life - spiritual food through His son Jesus Christ.
In the form of the body and blood of Jesus Christ we are fed in the Eucharist. In this way we obtain daily bread with His grace and through the mercy of God as well as to obtain salvation.
In passing on my faith to the next generation this means we should repent first. Not like our ancestors who were disloyal and faithless, we should not rebel against the Most High. We should not put God to the test. Instead, I need to teach our children about His trustworthy deeds and His power and wonders He has done for us in the past.
We are told through the lessons of history over and over given to each generation so that they would not forget God and not make the same mistakes as their ancestors.
Receiving that precious bread from heaven which means we will never be hungry again, we should put on a new self with humility. We should learn
through our ancestors' mistakes and hear God’s teaching and listen to the word of God with integrity of heart.
With His grace I am fed with the body and blood of Christ.