REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR THE EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR B

THE PROTEST FOR OUR DAILY BREAD

First Reading: Exodus 16:2-4,12-15
Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 77(78):3-4,23-25,54
Second Reading: Ephesians 4:17,20-24
Gospel Reading: John 6:24-35
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Lechem (לֶחֶם), the Hebrew word for bread, appears frequently throughout the Hebrew Bible, showing its importance as a staple food and a symbol of sustenance in Jewish culture and tradition. Bread is a fundamental part of the daily diet and is often called “the staff of life.” The process of making bread, from harvesting grain to baking, is steeped in tradition and ritual. This is evident in practices such as the blessing over bread (Hamotzi lechem min haaretz) during meals, especially on the Sabbath and holidays. In Jewish thought, bread symbolizes God’s provision, as illustrated by this Sunday’s readings, reinforcing the belief in God’s daily care for His people. Sharing bread is also a fundamental act of hospitality and charity in Jewish culture, reflecting the importance of feeding the hungry and providing for the needy—a recurring theme in Jewish ethics. Thus, bread, or לֶחֶם (lechem), is not just a food item in Jewish culture; it is a symbol of life, sustenance, and divine provision, holding a central place in daily meals, religious rituals, and ethical teachings. Our Sunday reflection shall be centered around positive protest for our daily bread, principally the bread that lasts forever.

In the First Reading from the book of Exodus (16:2-4, 12-15), the Israelites, recently freed from Egyptian slavery, were in the harsh wilderness and began to doubt their survival prospects. They expressed their hunger and nostalgia for the abundance of food they had in Egypt, which led them to protest against God and Moses, saying: “Why did we not die at the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we were able to sit down to pans of meat and could eat bread to our heart’s content! As it is, you have brought us to this wilderness to starve this whole company to death!” Their complaints about hunger reflect a struggle with faith and trust in God’s promises. In response, God provides them with manna. The term “manna” comes from the Hebrew phrase “מָן הוּא” (man hu), meaning “What is it?” because the Israelites did not recognize it (Exodus 16:15). Although they initially didn’t understand what it was, Moses clarified that it was the bread (לֶחֶם, lechem) given by the Lord for them to eat—”bread from heaven,” which became their daily bread. This indicates that they came to see manna as their divinely provided sustenance, equivalent to bread in its role as their staple food.

The narrative of this historical event of divine provision of bread continues in the Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 77(78):3-4, 23-25, 54), praising God’s mighty deeds and faithfulness to His people. The psalmist recounts how God “opened the doors of heaven” and “rained down manna for them to eat,” highlighting the miraculous nature of this provision. The description of manna as the “bread of angels” (לֶחֶם אַבִּירִים  – lechem abirim), which directly translates to “bread of the mighty ones,” denotes its divine origin and the special care God took in sustaining His people. This psalm reinforces the message that God not only provides for physical needs but does so in a way that demonstrates His power and commitment to His covenant. It is remembered and celebrated in Psalm 78, pointing our minds to its rich significance, where the psalmist calls upon the community to remember and teach future generations about God’s wondrous works.

Drawing the minds of the people to the wondrous works of God—His divine provision—was what Christ attempted to do through His miraculous feeding of the crowd, which occurred earlier as seen in this Sunday’s Gospel Reading (John 6:24-35). Here, Jesus addresses the crowd that follows Him after the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. He admonishes them for seeking Him not because of the signs but because they had their fill of the loaves. Jesus then speaks of a different kind of sustenance: “Do not labour for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.” He identifies Himself as the “bread of life,” saying, “He who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.” The social context of this passage is pertinent. The crowd, experiencing Roman occupation and economic hardship, was concerned with physical survival. Jesus uses their immediate physical need to introduce a deeper spiritual truth, paralleling the provision of manna in the wilderness as seen in the first reading. In the biblical Greek, the term for bread, “ἄρτος” (artos), conveys both physical nourishment and, metaphorically, spiritual sustenance. This is echoed in the petitions in the Lord’s Prayer: Christ teaches us to say “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). This plea comprises both our material and spiritual needs, recognizing God as the provider of all sustenance. The “daily bread” signifies not just physical food but also the spiritual nourishment found in God’s Word and the Holy Eucharist. This explains why, when the crowd asked Jesus to give them the bread that comes from heaven, He said: “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never thirst.” This provides the background for the doctrine of the Holy Eucharist in the Johannine Gospel; for in the Eucharist, we eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ, receiving the true bread from heaven for our daily sustenance, sustaining our spiritual lives and fortifying us in our journey of faith.

Sadly, like the Jews at the time of Christ experiencing hunger and economic hardship under Roman rule, today many other countries, including Nigeria, are experiencing real hunger and economic hardship. This is characterized by the ongoing national protest to end bad governance, where many things have been destroyed and lives lost. In times like this, we turn to God like the Israelites in the wilderness and cry out for our daily bread as we protest, believing that He will sustain and provide for us through the government. At the same time, we must not lose sight of our heavenly manna (bread of angels)—the spiritual nourishment found in the Word of God and in the Eucharist. For what good would it profit us if we focus only on material benefits and become victims of spiritual hunger, as highlighted in Amos 8:11: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord God, when I will send a famine on the land—not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.” We must remember that “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Deuteronomy 8:3, Matthew 4:4).

Dear friends in Christ, as St. Paul urges the Ephesians in the Second Reading (Ephesians 4:17, 20-24), let us continue to fulfil our spiritual needs by abandoning our old sinful habits and embracing a renewed life filled with love, forgiveness, and compassion. It is by spiritually protesting against sin and our evil ways and recognizing Jesus as the true sustenance of our souls, who feeds us with His Body and Blood at every Eucharistic celebration, that we can be renewed spiritually. Thus, nourished by the Bread from Heaven and the Word of God, we are called to demonstrate our faith in Christ through lives revitalized by the Holy Spirit.

Shalom!
© Fr. Chinaka Justin Mbaeri, OSJ
Seminário Padre Pedro Magnone, São Paulo, Brazil
nozickcjoe@gmail.com / fadacjay@gmail.com

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