The Gift of Bread

As I mentioned last week in the sermon we are in the middle of the gospel of John’s ‘Bread
Discourse’ with lectionary readings five Sundays in a row talking about bread. Two weeks ago
it was the miracle of the fishes and loaves, last week it was ‘the bread of God is that which
comes down from heaven and gives life to the world’ ‘do not work for the food that perishes but
for the for that gives eternal life.’ And today Jesus says, ‘I am the bread of life.’ There must be
some reason that our wise leaders who put together the lectionary put the focus on bread for five
weeks in a row. So let’s consider bread.

I don’t have a lot of memories of my dad. My parents divorced when I was 10 and he died in a
motor vehicle accident when I was 16. But one fond memory I do have of him was baking
bread! My early family wasn’t much about desserts and sweets, or really much about bread.
But I fondly remember, as a youth, when my father did occasionally bake bread. I can
remember being in awe of the process. The mess of the flour and water. The kneading and
pounding. Letting it sit in a bowl and rise. Patience and waiting! The smell of the flour and of
the yeast. And then the bread in the oven. The aroma of baking bread filling the household.
As I close my eyes and breathe in through my nose, I can remember, almost reproduce, that
smell. And then the bread comes out of the oven, brown and crusty, you let it rest for a bit, then
crack the crust and slice into the bread. Fond memories from when I was five or six years old.
I treasure them. The sights, the textures, the work, and the aromas. You will likely have
similar memories…

Bread is foundational to pretty much every culture. Think about it. We have Italian bread,
French baguettes, British scones and crumpets and white bread for cucumber sandwiches,
German pumpernickel, Polish and Russian challah, Indian nam, Greek pita, Jewish matzo,
Mexican tortillas. And each of those countries has their cultural variations — Italians are a
good example — ciabatta, foccacia, Pane Casarecchio, Pane de Lariano, Filone di Renella,
cornettos; taralli, friselle. The French have croissants, baguettes, brioche. You get the idea.
Bread is rich and cultural and central to life.

Recently the world’s oldest bread was found at a prehistoric site in Jordan. Charred remains of
a flatbread baked 14,500 years ago in a stone fire place in northeastern Jordan. This is
important archaeologically because previously it was thought that bread originated much later
with early farming societies that cultivated cereals and legumes. Before this recent discovery,
the oldest bread found had been from a nine thousand year old site. This new finding suggests
that bread-making began 4000 years before plant cultivation took root, 14,500 years ago. So
bread has been foundational to human existence even before, or about the same time as, the
nomadic lifestyle began to become more sedentary, as humankind began to settle down and live
in communities.

Bread is also central to religious lives. The Jewish Passover; Muslim ramadan with fasting all
day long, then a family dinner in the evening; and Christian Eucharist. One Google search
indicates that bread is mentioned 361 times in the Bible. Both the Old and New Testaments are
replete with references to bread. Moses putting the bread into the tabernacle in the tent of
meeting. Elijah calling to the widow gathering sticks at Zarephath, ‘Bring me a morsel of bread
in your hand…’ and her jar of meal and jug of oil not being emptied for many days. Remember
the ‘bread of the presence.’ Elijah in the wilderness waking and looking when 1 Kings says,
’He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stone, and a jar of water.’ The 1
Samuel mention of holy bread, bread of the Presence. And then Matthew 12 again mentioning
bread of the presence when the Pharisees were challenging Jesus and he said, ‘Have you not
read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God
and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him or his companions to eat, but
only for the priests…’

Jesus knew all these stories. Knew the importance of bread and made it central to our
understanding of God and God’s working in our presence. Not only did He so often do his
work and teaching around meals and at table, but he also mentioned bread frequently and put it
at the centre of our Christian faith. Right here on the table in the Eucharist. ‘I am the bread of
life.’ a gift to us. How often do you think of the Eucharist as a gift? The word Eucharist
means ‘thanksgiving.’ We are giving thanks for a gift.

Two weeks ago, two lovely faithful parishioners here gave me a loaf of bread. It is dark, dense,
chewy. A very rich flavor. When they handed me the loaf, I was surprised — it was very
heavy. And delicious! I have made sandwiches out of it, spread peanut butter on it, toasted it
with butter and jam, toasted it with soft boiled eggs on it for breakfast and just eaten slices of it.
It is delicious. A real gift. That has been treasured by me. Thank you!

Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry and whoever
believes in me will never be thirsty.”

Our bread in the Eucharist is a gift. The ultimate gift. The bread given to me by the two
parishioners here was also a gift. A lovely gift. Giving gifts is of paramount importance. For that is the way we humans care for one another. Yes you can give a loaf of bread, or flowers, or
buy a cup of coffee, or just open the door for someone to enter before you, or just give a
genuine smile. It doesn’t have to always be tangible. We can give a loving gift with every
interaction. We can give metaphorical bread with every human encounter. Mother Teresa said,
“Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of
God’s kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.”
“I am the bread of life.” Pass it on. Be the bread of life. “Let no one ever come to you without
leaving better and happier.”

Amen.