Yuck! What is it?

"The Body of Christ, the Bread of heaven" we hear as the Communion wafer is laid in our hand. Or, in some Episcopal parishes the aroma of fresh baked bread may fill the sanctuary on Sunday morning: my parishes did that and we treasured the joy of breaking warm bread that someone had baked and brought fresh from the oven, memories that decades later still move my heart and stir my soul. At Trinity, when Mary George Williams of Greek heritage, her father Nick George was the dearest of men, and her three little children adorable, baked the bread, especially at Easter and Christmas, it was a huge round loaf that Mary decorated with Greek symbols for Christ and red cherries, and as little children knelt at the Altar rail I'd hear excitedly, "Father Tom, can I have a cherry?!" That memory never fades.

Often, the wafer that's laid into our hands at the Communion rail fits the likely first reaction to the מָ֣ן ה֔וּא man-hu manna that morning in the wilderness with Moses, a limp, stale, even soggy, disgusting thing, "Yuck! מָ֣ן ה֔וּא man-hu, manna, what is it?!" And so starting with our church in Pennsylvania and every one since, we have bought and put in the sacristy, where the Communion elements are prepared, a toaster oven, and instructions for the Altar Guild that the wafers are always to be warmed (never toasted and browned), but warmed until they are dry and crisp. Because Psalm 34:8 says "Taste and see that the Lord is good", and in my mind, to serve a wafer that is disgusting on the tongue and declare "The Body of Christ" is blasphemy! So, Linda and I have bought and "installed" (count them) five toaster ovens, in the sacristies of Mount Calvary, Trinity, Holy Nativity, Grace, and St Thomas by the Sea.

But the story, continuing in Exodus, we read and hear another good old Sunday School bible story, YHWH hearing the whining of his people in the wilderness that they are starving, and giving them quail and מָ֣ן ה֔וּא yuck, what is it? manna to eat. The quail always remind me that my grandfather Gentry loved to hunt birds (my sister Gina records that he went hunting the day before he died of a heart attack at age 90). Among favorite memories floats the aroma of quail and dove in the enormous frying pan on the gas stove, smothered in dark brown gravy, and tucking in to a huge mound of it as we children, beloved cousins and siblings, ate at the round kitchen table while the adults ate in the dining room. 

But the Bible story! Poor old Moses, reluctantly but nevertheless, responding selflessly to the Lord's call on his life, he left the lone tranquility of a shepherd's life to lead through the wilderness, a mob of malcontents who for the next forty years never stopped whining and complaining. 

And from the Gospel (John 6)

 30 So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

35 Jesus said to them, “I AM the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

TS/Hurricane Sally is in the Gulf, it's raining, the Bay water is up, and this morning I woke up 85 years old. The first day of the rest of my life, and I'm going to start it with a slice of the coconut cake that Linda baked yesterday. Coconut cake piled high with whipped cream, and another mug of hot black coffee.

T fer Tom

Oh, nearly forgot: common art (top) and Michelangelo's Moses 

is depicted with horns on his head. ... Moses is actually described as having "rays of the skin of his face", which Jerome in the Vulgate had translated as "horns". The mistake in translation is possible because the word "keren" in the Hebrew language can mean either "radiated (light)" or "grew horns".**

The Collect

Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Old Testament

Exodus 16:2-15

The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days.” So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the 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 complaining against the Lord. For what are we, that you complain against us?” And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning, because the Lord has heard the complaining that you utter against him—what are we? Your complaining is not against us but against the Lord.”

Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, ‘Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.’“ And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. The Lord spoke to Moses and said, “I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’“

In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, מָ֣ן ה֔וּא (man hu) “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is הַלֶּ֔חֶם ha-lechem the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.

The Response

Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45

Confitemini Domino

1 Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his Name; * make known his deeds among the peoples.

2 Sing to him, sing praises to him, * and speak of all his marvelous works.

3 Glory in his holy Name; * let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

4 Search for the Lord and his strength; * continually seek his face.

5 Remember the marvels he has done, * his wonders and the judgments of his mouth,

6 O offspring of Abraham his servant, * O children of Jacob his chosen.

37 He led out his people with silver and gold; * in all their tribes there was not one that stumbled.

38 Egypt was glad of their going, * because they were afraid of them.

39 He spread out a cloud for a covering * and a fire to give light in the night season.

40 They asked, and quails appeared, * and he satisfied them וְלֶ֥חֶם wa-lechem with bread from heaven.

41 He opened the rock, and water flowed, * so the river ran in the dry places.

42. For God remembered his holy word * and Abraham his servant.

43 So he led forth his people with gladness, * his chosen with shouts of joy.

44 He gave his people the lands of the nations, * and they took the fruit of others' toil,

45 That they might keep his statutes * and observe his laws.

Hallelujah!

The Epistle

Philippians 1:21-30

To me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, so that I may share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you again.

Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, and are in no way intimidated by your opponents. For them this is evidence of their destruction, but of your salvation. And this is God's doing. For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well-- since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

The Gospel

Matthew 20:1-16

Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ 

When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ 

But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

** I did not verify this, which I lifted from something online. I do not know whether Jerome translated the OT from Hebrew or from LXX the Septuagint Greek. And I didn't look up to see whether the word "keren" is Hebrew or Greek. My birthday present to myself is sloppy scholarship if I DWP!

TW+