Psalm Reflection: The Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle B

“The Lord gave them bread from Heaven.” - Psalms 78

While my dad worked in his home office on the bottom floor, my mom would be taking care of the house while the TV would be on cycling between TLC, HGTV, and the Food network. I would often catch random scenes and episodes here and there, and one of my favorites was the TLC network show Extreme Couponing.

I love a good deal and getting things for free, but this show followed people who took couponing to another level. They would collect binders full of coupons and plan shopping trips to get as many supplies as possible for the smallest amount. In one episode a woman purchased $1,461.00 worth of groceries and supplies for only $21.23. 

What do you do with all of that stuff? Most of them had stockpiles in their garages or basements. Many developed a fear that they would run out of the things they needed, or they were concerned about an emergency or disaster leaving their families without the food and supplies they would need, so they hoarded whatever they could get.

They were afraid things would run out, but none of it lasts forever. Nearly everything has an expiration date, and the more things were used they had to work to plan another coupling haul to replenish their stockpile.

The Psalm for this Sunday is a reminder of when the Israelites were wandering in the desert for forty years and the Lord provided bread from Heaven, called manna, to sustain them. The Lord told Moses to instruct the people not to collect or eat more than they needed, because it would not last and they needed to trust that God would provide new bread for them each day:

Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over until morning.” But they did not listen to Moses, and some kept a part of it over until morning, and it became wormy and stank. Therefore Moses was angry with them. Morning after morning they gathered it, as much as each needed to eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted away. - Exodus 16:19-21

The manna in the desert ran out: it was only intended to sustain them temporarily until they reached the Promised land. However, it served as a sign of God’s faithfulness and providence, and foreshadowed the reality that one day the Lord would provide bread that would not perish, but would provide eternal life.

Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal… Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” - John 6:27, 35

As Catholics, we partake of this eternal bread every time we receive Jesus in the Eucharist. He sustains our souls and nourishes us so we are able to inherit the gift of salvation He won for us. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that the Eucharist is "the source and summit of the Christian life” (paragraph 1324). However, many Catholics treat Mass like an obligation, rather than an opportunity for the Lord to sustain, nourish, and renew us in both body and soul. Mass becomes a routine, a tradition, or an inherited family practice, instead of an intentional act of worship for the God who provides all we need and sustains us every day of our lives.

If we are willing to put in incredible amounts of time and effort to pursue things that are temporary and run out, why would we not put in even more time and effort into things that sustain us eternally?

Where have you become lukewarm in your devotion to the Lord?

Where do you struggle to give your absolute best to God?

Where is the Lord absent in your life? Where does He need to be the first priority?

The Lord is kind and merciful. He knows we are weak and we fail to stay committed, but He also gives us every opportunity to change and recommit. He constantly invites us to renewal and revival, and the way He wants to revive you is in the Eucharist. He wants you to bring all of yourself to Him at Mass, so He can give you all of Himself and so you can bring Him with you out into the world.

The bread came down from Heaven in the time of Moses. The bread also came down from Heaven when Jesus became Man. Even though Jesus ascended into Heaven, the bread never left. The Eucharist is here for us to receive Jesus daily to bring His living presence out into the world.

Where have you forgotten that?

What can you do to deepen your knowledge and understanding of the gravity of what is happening at every Mass when bread and wine become the ACTUAL body and blood of Jesus?

God is faithful and can never be outdone in generosity. He always desires to give us more and more. 

How are you being called to receive what He is offering more frequently and more intentionally? 

I am praying for you, please pray for me, and I will see you in the Eucharist.

Matt

This reflection is based on the Responsorial Psalm for this Sunday, August 4th, 2024, which is the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle B: Psalms 78:3-4, 23-24, 25, 54.