MAGNIFICENT METAPHORS: BREAD

“For the bread of heaven is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” John 6: 33

The underlying premise of these Magnificent Metaphors meditations (this is the third) is that we humans live in a three-story universe. The first level is the material world governed by the laws of nature. The second story is the cultural world of language, art, and history: the world of symbols. The third story is the spiritual world, which infuses the other three but is hard to detect. It usually breaks through in times of great love, great beauty, or great suffering. It is more apprehended than comprehended. To describe the spiritual dimension, we have to use items we can see or touch from the material world to represent the realities that can’t be accessed by the senses.

The scriptural use of the word ‘bread’ shows us all three dimensions. There are many references to the physical food as when Adam is told he has to go out and work for his bread instead of leisurely picking it off of the (bread)fruit tree in the Garden… Joseph made sure there was bread for the Egyptians as well as his own family during the famine years. Often scripture talks about bread reviving life among hungry soldiers and civilians in times of famine or war. In 1 Kings, bread-and-water rations in prison are the measure of the bare essentials in terms of physical survival. Significantly, depriving the hungry of bread is a major indictment of the wealthy for the Old Testament prophets.

Physical bread takes on greater significance throughout the Bible when we talk about ‘breaking bread,’ the essence of hospitality, one of the gifts of the spirit. Abraham offers bread to his angelic visitors, Boaz shares his bread with Ruth, and Jesus offers fish sandwiches during his post-resurrection cookout on the beach. The Festival of Unleavened Bread connected with Passover is another example of real bread taking on symbolic significance, in this case the bread of affliction and haste as the Hebrews remember the days of slavery and their miraculous escape. The tabernacle and later the temple had a table for the Bread of the Presence, representing God’s provision for His people (which we still request when we ask for our daily bread in The Lord’s Prayer.) Moses and later Jesus fast for forty days giving up bread in preparation for divine inspiration. There are negative connotations of bread in places such as Jesus condemning the yeast of the Pharisees or Judas dipping his bread in the bowl with Jesus before the betrayal. Psalms and Proverbs warn us about the bread of wickedness or adversity or idleness. On the other hand, casting our bread upon the water is a symbol of diligence and faith!

Most importantly, of course, are the spiritual insights we gain through the Biblical use of bread as a symbol of grace. Although God sends bread to Elijah as nourishment and encouragement during a famine, Jesus tells Satan that we do not live by bread alone but by the words from the mouth of God, which provide spiritual nourishment. Similarly, God sends manna from heaven to the Children of Israel wandering in the desert in Exodus, which Jesus says foreshadows a new form of the Bread of Heaven: He Himself, the Bread of Life. When he offers his disciples bread during the last supper, he explains how the symbolism works: ‘This is my body broken for you.’ The gift of life comes through His death on the cross. By eating the bread during the sacrament of communion we acknowledge that Jesus took upon Himself the suffering of the world and transformed that pain into new life. And by eating the sacred bread, we also promise to follow that same path: dying to ourselves and taking on the life of Christ. The bread of flour and water becomes the bread of spirit and eternal life.

It’s interesting that we don’t really make bread: we just assemble ingredients and let the laws of chemistry create the loaf. Similarly, we can’t save ourselves but only accept that the law of love is creating in us a new loaf, uh, life in Christ.

Reflection:

What ingredients do you need to provide God so that God can create a new life in you?

-- Jack Nuzum