11 February 2017 - you have given them bread from heaven

[ Today's Readings ]

Man and woman are unable to confess to the wrong they've done. Instead they shift the blame from the woman, to the man, and ultimately to the serpent as if the choice had not belonged to each of them.

Perhaps, having taken the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they now believe this somewhat. Maybe they have so fully rationalized things as to be right in their own eyes. God cannot leave them this way, naked and afraid, and ultimately unable to realize why they now feel that way. Nakedness is a sign that they now feel unsafe, that they feel the need to protect themselves from abuse by others in a way that they did not feel previously. In order to work toward the restoration of relationship God cannot allow things to proceed this way forever.

Then the LORD God said: "See! The man has become like one of us,
knowing what is good and what is evil!
Therefore, he must not be allowed to put out his hand
to take fruit from the tree of life also,

The tree of life would be no blessing for Adam and Eve. They would find that the suffering of childbirth, the suffering of daily labor, and all suffering would simply be prolonged by longer life. Death itself can not solve the problem though perhaps it teaches them to long for true rest.

The fruit of the womb comes only with difficulty and the bread of the earth comes only with the sweat of one's brow. Death is the end of this sad story. Until Jesus comes. He is the fruit of the womb where the reversal begins, where the labor is once again not painful, but simply beautiful and peaceful. And now Jesus gives the crowd bread without the sweat of labor.

Then, taking the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them,
and gave them to his disciples to distribute,
and they distributed them to the crowd.

Yet our hearts are still hearts which choose to know good and evil apart from God. We still need the obedience of Jesus given to us by the Spirit to transform us. We still need a death to put an end to our disobedience and a new life of faith in God. But in the miracle of the bread we now dare to hope that there is ultimately a feast beyond the sorrows of this world, a feast where death no longer has any sway.

O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? (see First Corinthians 15:55).

The LORD wants to teach us to number our own days before we return to the dust so we don't make the mistake of simply trying to prolong what we have here below, with all the suffering and sorrow that inevitably arise from sin sick hearts. Instead he wants us to hope in the transformation that comes from the death and resurrection of Christ. It is a hope for the hereafter. But it is a hope we can begin to taste even now. We taste it in the bread from heaven, the Eucharist. We taste it in the fruits of the Spirit, born without labor in the hearts of those with faith.