8 April 2016
Friday of the Second Week of Easter
Jesus isn’t just being thrifty today. When He tells the Apostles in today’s gospel to gather up all the fragments left over from the multiplication, He is doing something new. When Moses was wandering in the desert with the Israelites, they were fed with manna from Heaven, but Moses ordered them not to keep it. Not only that, but those who disobeyed woke the next morning to find the bread rotting. With Moses, God’s power and care for the people comes at particular moments and then goes. With Jesus, God’s power and care for the people comes and remains.
Not only does God’s care remain, but God himself remains. The Greek word used here for the leftover fragments from the meal quickly becomes the word used for the leftover fragments from the Eucharist–which were gathered up after Mass and put in the Tabernacle. In a very concrete and real way, God remains with us here on Earth through the Eucharist. When Jesus tore the veil between Heaven and Earth, it didn’t just mean that we can now go to Heaven. It also meant that God would be close to us here on Earth. God has come to us, and remains with us.