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SUSTAINED BY THE WORD
“One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” This is the response Jesus makes to the devil during his time of wilderness testing. Jesus foregoes bread during a 40-day fast. God’s word is enough to sustain him.
Jesus, of course, is quoting Moses, who directed this saying to Israel in the desert. The community had grown idle receiving their dole of manna--that daily bread falling from heaven during their sojourn. Moses tells the Israelites bluntly: Heavenly food delivery was never the point of this divine gift. The message in the bread is that God will provide.
During recent times when we had little or no access to liturgy or Eucharist, we were never deprived of the message in the Bread. Our Eucharist is a lifelong repeating counsel: Trust that God supplies. Trust the sacrament that lives in you. As Saint Paul blessed the Colossians: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” (Col 3:16)
Every liturgy is composed of Word AND Eucharist. It’s easy to forget that the sacrament of the Divine Word is a powerful vessel of God’s presence, too.
Every practicing Catholic seeks and longs for a place at the Lord’s Table, and that’s how it should be. But if we’ve been reminded this year of the tremendous authority in our sacrament of words, then fasting from the bread from heaven will not have been time wasted.
—Alice Camille,
reprinted with permission from TrueQuest Communications
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