Exodus 16:4-12

“When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, ‘What is it?’ For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, ‘It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.’”

The Israelites had never seen food like what the Lord provided in the wilderness, so when they saw it covering the ground, they called it “manna,” which is Hebrew for “What is it?” Later on, as they understood that this was the bread God was giving them, “manna” turned from a question into an affirmation, and “manna” became their word to describe the special bread from heaven that had sustained them in the wilderness. Some when reading this story are reminded of the Bread of Life that comes to us in Holy Communion. While communion rituals differ, the common denominator is always bread. And ironically through the centuries the question that people ask about the bread has been the one that the Hebrews asked, “What is it?” And answers to that question have perplexed believers. And sometimes debates have turned nasty, even proving divisive within Christianity. “Is it just bread,” believers ask, “or is it more than that?” And we go on to talk about real presence and consubstantiation, or a myriad of other issues related to the Lord’s Supper–we really do like to argue. Perhaps it would be better to agree that, like the manna, the bread of the Eucharist is simply the bread of heaven, graciously provided by God to sustain us in our wandering.

Thought for the Day: What is the bread of Holy Communion?