There are a lot of biblical scholars and theologians in the Catholic church that can really sink their teeth into the first reading for mass today. It is fraught with theological insights. This reading is so rich in history and symbolism that you could think about it for years. There are countless theologians and biblical scholars who have written entire books on these passages in scripture. There is no way the average person can even begin to comprehend everything there is to be gleaned from these scripture passages. We’ve heard this story so many times in our lives and just when we think we know everything there is to learn about it, a new insight will suddenly emerge. Our Catholic faith is a lot like that too. Our faith can be as simple as holding an onion, or as complicated as peeling the layers of the onion off one layer at a time, and then cooking it into complicated, but very delicious gourmet dishes. A master chef can do some amazing things with a simple onion, but so can the average housewife.
Let’s start with the simple onion perspective of today’s readings for mass. The scriptures are so simple and easy to understand that even children “get it”. Both of the readings are about food. The Israelites in the first reading today were eating on the fly and so was Jesus’ disciples. They didn’t have time to sit down and have a nice leisurely meal. Neither do housewives, come to think of it though. Modern people eat fast food on the run too, because we always seem to be in a hurry to get somewhere, and we don’t want to waste the time sitting down to eat. So, most of us should be able to relate to eating on the run when we are away from home too.
However, God gave the Israelites a lot of time to prepare their food and then eat it as if they were ready to leave on a moment’s notice. One reason He might have done this is because it helped the entire community come together and function as one family. It was a bonding experience with one another because they all did the same thing together, at the same time. It was also a kind of role playing, to prepare them to leave Egypt together as a community on short notice if they needed to.
But, it gets more complicated than this. The blood from the lambs that were killed, was brushed on the doorways of every family’s home so that the angel of death would pass them by. This blood is also symbolic of the death of Jesus Christ. His blood washed us from our sins and saved us from the death of our souls. He purchased eternal life for us at the cost of his own blood. Jesus Christ is called the sacrificial lamb for this reason. We pass from death into life through the blood of Jesus Christ.
The Eucharist is also tied into the readings today too. The Israelites’ entire congregation ate unleaven bread during their passover meal. The unleaven bread was also a good food to take on a trip, like the journey they would soon make in their new lives. The unleaven bread of the passover is also symbolic of our Eucharist and the communion we share together at mass each week. The old testament readings are always fulfilled in the new testament. Jesus came in fulfillment of the scriptures. Jesus Christ himself is the bread of new life that we share for our own new life in Christ.
The Eucharist is also tied into the gospel reading for today too. Jesus and his disciples were traveling through a field of grain and he allowed the disciples to eat the grain as they traveled because they were hungry. This grain is symbolic of the Eucharist. Jesus allowed his disciples to eat the grain in the field, and he fed them his body and blood at the last supper, in the form of bread and wine.
What is so awesome about the gospel reading today though, isn’t anything to do with theology. It just has to do with love. Jesus loved his disciples, more than he loved the rules. His disciples were hungry so he let them break the rules and eat. It is so easy for other people to be on the outside looking in and make a judgement about things. Hopefully, we do try not to be like the Pharisees in today’s gospel though. They thought it was righteous to deny one’s hunger on a Sabbath and walk through the field of grain without eating it, because of the rules. Jesus said otherwise. Sacrifices like this is not what he wants. He wants us to love one another instead. Love and compassion is more important than the rules sometimes. We should remember this with our family and friends too. Rules are important, but we should be very careful not to alienate our family or friends over a minor technicality. It is very easy to let minor things like this damage our relationships with those we care about the most. Today, maybe we could try to keep in mind the big picture and not let something little destroy a good thing in our lives.
