October 15, 2019

You are given what you need in the present moment. That’s what the manna from heaven was all about. When the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness, God fed them daily with, well, daily bread. “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day….” (Exodus 16:4)

God gave His people specific instructions about this daily bread. If they tried to gather enough to store for tomorrow, not trusting that God would deliver on His daily promise and provision, then the manna would rot. With a kind of putrid clarity, the scripture tells us that,  “stored manna bred worms and stank.” 

So there is good reason Jesus includes “give us this day our daily bread” in the Lord’s Prayer. And don’t forget that He is the true bread that comes down from heaven. He says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall not thirst.” He is what you need in this present moment.

“Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.” (Fourth Sunday in Lent – BCP p. 219)