The first reading at Mass today comes from the Book of Numbers and concerns the manna that came from heaven to feed the Israelites in the desert. We are told that the people "would grind it between millstones or pound it in a mortar, then cook it in a pot and make it into loaves, which tasted like cakes made with oil" (Numbers 11:8).
There are, I think, two messages we can learn from this passage. First, the Lord will indeed meet our needs, but he may require us to work with him to do so. The manna did not fall from heaven in the form of loaves, but the people had to form it into loaves. Too often we expect the Lord to do all of the work for us, when instead he wants us to cooperate with the grace he gives.
Second, we ought to humbly accept the gift of the Lord. The people grew tired of this manna and said to Moses, "Would that we had meat to eat for food" (Numbers 11:4)! The Lord supplied their need for food with the manna and yet still they demanded more. Rather than receive his gift with gratitude they demanded more.
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