Meeting 2. - Eucharist as food¶

Tags: Eucharist, Old Testament, Desires, Text work, Mystagogical

Introduction for the Animator¶

The goal of today’s meeting is:

drawing attention to bread, which is the basic food and explaining why Jesus left himself to us under this symbol;
showing the situation in the Old Testament, the meaning of bread, food from God for the Israelites;
realizing what changes Jesus Christ introduces to this relationship, who is the true food;
asking a question about the role of the Eucharist, receiving Jesus in communion, in my life and thus deepening the awareness of this moment of the Eucharist.

Today’s meeting takes place late, we are already after the Tent of Meeting and baking bread. This meeting will primarily refer to these two points. It is a meeting largely based on fragments from the Holy Scripture. However, it is not about quickly reading them and moving as quickly as possible to the next fragment. Each fragment should be discussed very thoroughly with participants, explained. Helpful, especially in younger groups, will be describing the situation shown in the Holy Scripture, i.e. where it takes place, who takes part, what it could look like, what emotions accompanied it, etc., referring to the meaning of bread in their life, even through such questions as: “how often do you eat bread, which do you like most etc.” and referring to baking bread, which took place earlier. “What is it like to be a baker?” Generally, one should strive for this meeting to be as much as possible a CONVERSATION with participants. It absolutely cannot be a theological lecture by the animator. During the meeting, differences between OT and NT should be shown, what new things Jesus Christ brings.

Introduction¶

Let’s read:

They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” 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, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For what are we, that you grumble against us?” And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the Lord has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him—what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the Lord.” Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, ‘Come near before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’” And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. And the Lord said to Moses, “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’” In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. 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. This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’” And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. […] 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.

—Ex 16:1-18.35

The Israelites grumble against the Lord because they have no food, they have no bread. They think it would be better for them to live in Egypt, where at least they had guaranteed food. On this occasion, it is worth talking to participants about what bread looks like, what it is made of. In Israel, bread (flatbread) was made of water, salt and flour (possibly also olive oil). These are basic ingredients. The simplest. Unleavened bread, used during Passover, was made without leaven (i.e. the rest of the dough remaining from the previous baking), only from water and flour. After baking bread, participants should be aware of the simplicity of bread. Let them share at the beginning of this meeting the experiences, reflections they had during baking bread. Through this simplicity, bread is the basic food of many people, especially the poor (where at the same time it is their only food). Let’s ask what poor people ask for most often (besides money).

Then let’s talk about how bread is treated in our homes.

How much bread is wasted in our homes? What is the approach to bread in our homes? Do we approach bread with respect (a tradition very widespread in Silesia)?

God cares for us¶

God also cares about our daily life, about our temporal food (in “Our Father” we ask for daily bread, which can also be understood as this earthly one). God listens to the grumbling of the Israelites, sends down his food. With this fragment from the book of Exodus, let’s pay attention to two things. First, the Israelites asked “what is it?”, it was an unusual, new phenomenon for them. Second, everyone could gather enough to eat their fill. God does not allow anyone to be hungry. Let’s talk about this fragment, what happened in it, what were the causes, what were the effects. Let it be a casual conversation about this fragment. One can quote a fragment of the psalm:

They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved.

They spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the wilderness?

He struck the rock so that water gushed out and streams overflowed.

Can he also give bread

or provide meat for his people?” Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of wrath; a fire was kindled against Jacob;

his anger rose against Israel, because they did not believe in God

and did not trust his saving power.

Yet he commanded the skies above and opened the doors of heaven,

and he rained down on them manna to eat

and gave them the grain of heaven.

Man ate of the bread of the angels; he sent them food in abundance.

—Ps 78:18-25

Let’s ask:

Why does God send food to the Israelites?
What is the reaction of the Israelites to this event?
How do they behave towards God after this event? Does their conduct change?
What does the term “bread of the angels” (or “bread of the mighty”) mean? How do you understand it?
Returning to the fragment from the book of Exodus: how long did the Israelites eat bread from the Lord? Why? (Discover the symbolic meaning: wandering – our whole life, Canaan – heaven, let’s not mention the Body of Jesus Christ yet.)

God feeds his people throughout their wandering, throughout the way. This food allows them to go to the goal that God intended for them. However, this miracle does not cause the Israelites to stop grumbling, doubting. That is why most of them died and did not reach the promised land.

Sacrament¶

Let’s read:

He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.

He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

who were born, not of blood

nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man,

but of God. 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.

—Jn 1:10-14

Based on the above fragment and the Tent of Meeting, let’s talk about the Eucharist, about the Bread we can eat today. Let participants share their thoughts from the Tent of Meeting.

What are the analogies between our life and the wandering of the Israelites? Let’s note that manna was God’s answer to people’s grumbling. The scene from the Tent of Meeting takes place after the multiplication of bread, when Jesus reproaches people for following him only because they ate their fill, while they do not care about eternal life. What difference occurs here between the Old Testament and the New? Let’s consider how it is in our life – do we approach communion only to eat our fill?

Let’s refer to thoughts from the Tent of Meeting:

What really is receiving Jesus, consuming His Body and Blood? It is a much greater gift than just help in temporal life, as it was in the OT. Here bread means eternal life, means union with Christ (about which tomorrow, so let’s not develop this thread), finally means PARTICIPATION IN THE SACRIFICE OF CHRIST, and also a pledge, a foretaste of heaven.

“What is it?” = “yet the world did not know him”¶

God desired to remain among us, did not want to leave us orphans - “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Let’s consider for a moment why God remained with us, why he allowed us to consume himself.

Our Lord Jesus Christ wanted to leave us salvation in his Body and Blood. Why does he order us to eat his Body and Blood? Because he is humble. If he were not humble, we could not eat or drink Him. Look at His infinity: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jn 1:1). Behold the eternal Food: but angels eat It, the highest powers and heavenly spirits eat It. Eating, they gain strength, and He who grants them satiety and joy remains intact. Well, what is this Food to man? Who will find a heart adapted to such Food? So He transformed into milk and adapted to the little ones. Here is how God’s Wisdom feeds us with this Food: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14). Look, what humility! “He gave them bread from heaven, Man ate of the bread of the angels” (Ps 78:24-25). The Eternal Word, on which angels feed, equal to the Father, is consumed by man. Because “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped” — such is what angels feed on — “but emptied himself” — so that man could eat the Bread of angels — “by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2:6-8) — so that from the cross we receive the Body and Blood of the Lord as a new sacrifice.

—St. Augustine

Jesus desires to remain with us because it is a manifestation of His love for us. He loved us so much that He desires that we can be one with him, that we can already here on earth achieve, at least partially, what awaits us in heaven. A Christian is a man looking out for the second coming of his Savior, a man gazing into heaven. To make this time of waiting more bearable for man, Jesus left us his Body so that we could wait.

Does modern man desire union with God? Is this also our greatest desire?

The Eucharist cannot be the source and summit of a Christian’s life, his most important moment, if he does not desire above all union with his Savior, if this is not his most important goal. We ask ourselves here whether God is most important to me. If we look at this situation from God’s side, we will see that for Him there is nothing more important than to unite with his people, with his creation. He emptied himself to be able to be with us!

In the Eucharist, unlike any other sacrament, the mystery [of communion] is so perfect that it brings us to the heights of every good: here is the ultimate goal of every human desire, because here we attain God and God joins himself to us in the most perfect union.

—John Paul II

This means exactly that the Eucharist is the summit of a Christian’s life, because in it the greatest desire of a Christian is fulfilled: he unites with God.

Summary¶

Listen to the story of a little girl I found on one of the streets of Calcutta. She was maybe six years old, and by her face I knew she was hungry and hadn’t eaten for a few days. I gave her a slice of bread, and she started eating it, slowly, crumb by crumb. I said: Eat the bread, don’t be afraid, eat. The child said: I am afraid, because when the bread runs out, I will be hungry again.

—Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Man cannot live without daily food, a Christian cannot live without the Body and Blood of Christ. Consuming them, it is no longer we who live, but Christ lives in us.

Is there also a fear in us that when the bread runs out, we will be hungry again?
Did we have such a period in our life when we lacked this Food? How do we feel when we cannot receive Jesus into our heart?
Can I do something to make these periods as few as possible?

Application¶

I will try to change my approach to food, eating (if necessary);
I will try to avoid periods in the coming weeks/month in which I will not be able to receive Holy Communion (the solution to this situation is to go to the sacrament of penance as soon as possible, and not e.g. avoiding mass…)