Text: Exodus 16: 1-8; 13-27.
In a biblical perspective, food can be viewed from a physical, social, moral and spiritual dimension. Or in other words, Food, faith and justice are inextricably bound together. Here Manna is an example for a ‘just food system’ that challenges the modern food structure which is only profit motives and inhuman. Mahatma Gandhi says, God created everything for fulfil human need not for human Greed. Unhealthy accumulation of wealth, earth & food by minority may lead vast majority to become poor. We need an indigenous food culture & agricultural system for self-sufficiency Masanobu Fukuoka, a Japanese agricultural scientist and a farmer who invented the natural way of farming says, “I believe that a revolution can begin from this one strand of straw. When seen at a glance, this rice straw may appear light and insignificant. No one can believe that it could start a revolution. But for me, this revolution is very real.” He envisions this farming method as an alternative to the modern agricultural practices that destroys earth and dehumanizes farmers. His farming method lies on deep ecology and deep spirituality that he doesn’t use any fertilizers, herbicides or not even plough the land. With this alternative method, he harvested about 1,300 pounds of rice from a quarter acre of his land which is one of the greatest harvests in the whole country.
The text before us also shows a great harvest in the desert. The main purpose of this tradition is to show that the people arrived at the land of cannan was entirely due to the power and care of YHWH. Later, as we seen in psalms, this tradition was inculcated into the worship of the Jewish community.
The rabbinic Midrash finds this manna story as an endless source for homiletical reflection. The manna stories were also frequently used by early church fathers as a homiletical vehicle for a great variety of themes. Later on, Ibn Ezra tried to identify biblical manna with our common food. According to modern scholars and scientists, manna, the heavenly bread may be the sap of some trees or an excretion from some insects in the deserts. Whatever may be this substance, the food that God given to the Israelites was considered as a gracious & divine sustenance in the wilderness.
I. Manna as a food that reaffirms the cosmic relationship:-
Every food that is being prepared had to undergo three phases. Firstly, the nature should bestow enough resources for the preparation of the food. Since it is processes that take place in the nature, it is dependent on many factors like time, seasons, climate and so on. In the second stage, the resources should be converted into a food which is edible for human beings. As this stage is entirely in the hands of human beings, the sharing of food must be happened here. Finally after a period of time, the food must be decomposed into its basic components. This character of the perishing enables the food to be shared with other living beings including micro organisms. In short the food cycle must include the involvement of the nature, human beings and other living organisms.
In this context, manna as a food plays an important role in maintaining the balance between nature, human and other fellow creatures. Manna is a raw material that is conditioned by the nature in such a way that it had overcome all the attempts to disturb the normal process of food production. V.27 says some persons went to gather food on the Sabbath day, which is intended to be a day of rest for the earth. Their actions reveal the human attempts of interfering into nature’s production process and breaking the relationship. Similarly V.17 says, that some people tried to gather more food and some less. The grammatical construction of the verb ‘gathered less’ in the original text signifies that the accumulation of the food by some people had caused some others to get less. This shows the early attempts by unjust power structures to disturb interpersonal relationships by the accumulation of food. Similarly, the effort for storing the food for the next day, in V. 20 shows human desire to override the perishability of the food. Manna was only available for human consumption for only a certain period of time fixed by the nature. After that it was decomposed and was available to be used by other living beings. This decomposing nature of manna had overturned all the intentions to accumulate food and hoarding it. The Moreover it has also become a provision intended for food for the other non- living beings inside the camp. In other words through manna, God’s vision to establish a cosmic relation of food with nature, fellow human beings and other living beings is accomplished.
Today’s context also explicates many attempts to disturb this cosmic relation of food. Farming, which has now become an agribusiness, forces the nature to surrender its ‘resources’, which are then manipulated to fulfil human greedy purpose. The efforts of Genetic Modification to combine the genes of animals and plants that will not normally mix in nature show intense human efforts to disturb this balance. The reports recently published by the central university of Punjab noted that there is excessive use of chemical fertilisers there and is steadily increasing even in the ground water which is assumed to be very safe. The groaning of the creation mentioned in Romans Ch. 8 can also be compared to these injustices done to the nature itself.
The modern science and technology coupled with capitalism, is now trying to extend the perishability of food by complex techniques for the benefit of human beings. The latest technology for food preservation includes gamma radiation to the foods so that it can be stored for long periods of time with out deterioration. The attempt to extend the perishabilty of food in form of food packaging, processing and preserving will cause a decline in the nutritive value of food as well as an increase in its cost.
Therefore when the nature and its resources are plundered by profit motivated interests, the manna story demands the need of an alternative food culture which reaffirms the cosmic relationship. We as a faith community are called to address and respond to this issue and to give a hope to the groaning of the creation. In addition to this cosmic relationship of manna, we can also able to find out that through Manna as a food that upholds the concerns of the community.
II. Manna as a food that uphold the concerns of the egalitarian civilization
The food that we eat is closely related to the culture of a community, they are the products of the reflections discoveries and technologies and of a community. In this passage manna can be considered as a food to the community. The name ‘manna’ itself is given by the Israelite community. The meaning of manna means ‘what is it?’ which signifies its undomesticated character. No selfish or profit motivated interests are allowed to rule over this food system. As the manna is not an end product or a ready-made food, the whole community is invited by YHWH to partake in the food gathering process. The sabbatical regulation concerning the food was given to protect the weak in the community. The fair supply of manna denoted a food security in the community level. Here a comparison of the food economy in this passage to the food economy in the Egypt at the time of Joseph, mentioned in Genesis 47 is worthwhile. Here in this passage, the supply of manna is expressed as the ‘rain of bread’ which means the universal and fair supply of food, whereas the Egyptian food system in Joseph’s time is highly exploitative. The people there are forced to sell their land, livestock, seeds, and finally themselves in order to purchase food. In short, the overall character of manna is community oriented. It had spoiled the thoughts of at least some people who tried to commodify and privatize this food. Similarly the undomesticated character of manna signifies that the food system should not be manipulated by human interests. This ancient food system can be contrasted with the western agricultural practices that dominate over the seed, food and its processing techniques. The privatization of seeds, foods through patents and Intellectual Property Rights(IPR) and the use of food as a political weapon for bargaining among nations are clear examples of this privatising and commoditising the food. The Seed Act of our country has already resulted in stopping farmers from seed saving, seed exchange and seed reproduction. Our country needs indigenous agricultural technologies make not create a dominating attitude on food. This is similar to God’s vision of creation to be owned by all. Jesus also used food and the parables of feast as tools for build an inclusive community. The Lord’s Prayer that Jesus taught also reflects this same concern for the community. Eucharist, the feast of the church, has a community affirming character. It is a great banquet in which the faith community receives the food and drink and get nourished. It is also a promise of the eschatological fullness and inclusive human community. The breaking of bread in the Eucharist is a purposive act that symbolises the sharing of bread. It is also an act that realizes the human labour as a creative and contemplative movement with the earth to bring the earth to its fullness. The story of manna challenges us to restore food to its rightful and necessary place in the community through common labour as well as celebrations.
Finally, let us look why this manna, the alternative food culture narrative is so important for a royal community like us? The context of this passage reveals that Manna is a symbol for God’s presence and providence in the desert. It can be considered as God’s call or an invitation for those who seek new engagements in an unknown land.
Alternative foods are the rights of a community who believe that another world is possible. Being addicted to the modern food culture, which is basically built up around the logic of exploitation, we have to identify that the alternative agricultural practices are the symbol of God’s providence in our new alternative engagements. Manna for Masanbu Fukuoka may be the natural farming, for India it may be the zero-budget farming and so on.
As members of the church and responsible citizen, we are called to see the food concern as a faith issue. Church as a faith community must able to join hands with the people’s movements who address this issue in our society. It must able to resist the oppressions and take risks in the search for a new society. If so manna, the alternative food will appear revealing God’s providence in these life engagements where we are called to. May the Holy Spirit give us the boldness to recognize and chose alternative food culture. Amen
Prepared by Sudeep A O & ed. By. Prasad .V Abraham. Valanjavattom.
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