Proper Bread

I just led by first properly live zoom communion. It's not ideal but it's what we can do right now. Because I was leading live I decided I wasn't going to have the same issues as l had the last time we did a semi live communion (the one with the youtube video made a few days before broadcast over zoom) and only be left with a choice of lasagne or cake for communion so this morning instead of going for what has nearly become traditional Sunday morning walk I'd avoid the wall of pollen outside and make bread. 

The trouble is I'd forgotten that my scales had broken yesterday so I did it by cup (how cups are an accurate way to measure I have no idea) and feel. 

I waited until we broke bread together to try it. 

But by eck, it was good. I couldn't stop eating it. 

It wasn't that it was bread, I can give or take bread which is why I normally don't have any in the house. 

It wasn't even that I'd made it - I've made enough bread now to be able to go through the motions, and to be honest I don't put effort into it as I use a dough hook in my mixer. 

It was that it was the best bread I've made in a while. Perfectly airy in the middle, crunchy on the outside, with a bit of flavour, but not so much you don't want to put a big chunk of butter on or ladle of jam. I sat through the zoom chat afterwards munching away. I sat through the playing of 'the old rugged cross' after we'd broken bread munching away. It was goooooood. 

That's enough bigging up my bread making skills...... 

Whenever I talk about food and faith I get passionate about the value of the homemade, about the value of abundance, about being generous in our feeding, about being people where the cup overflows, not slightly misses, because that is the God we worship - a generous, blessing overflowing, creator God who is about abundance not not quite enough. 

It's been hard being so passionate about the value of gathering around the table over the last few weeks, because I am eating alone, in a house on my own, with shopping I've risked my life to purchase and it's not the most fun of times. I've had a theological discussion on food and faith cancelled, which is only right, because how can I talk about the value of the table when we cannot gather?

Yet today, I was reminded of something of the goodness of God. Zoom communion is always going to be odd and slightly disappointing, but the value in trying is immense. It wasn't in that though I was reminded of the goodness of God - but it was in the bread. 

So often we use the tiny morsels of bread for communion, the one hamburger roll that has no actual bread inside so you struggle to share it amongst the congregation, the classic cubes of bread and the wafers - I will never forget the time I had to break bread as part of the communion liturgy and all I had was a tiny wafer. 

But real proper bread - it speaks better of the story - of the love and generosity and abundance of God. It smells good, it tastes good, it feels good - you feel satisfied.

While we cannot gather at a physical table and share amazing, wondrous bring and shares together (if you've never been to one of those then come to my church when we're allowed again and you will see what I mean), this meal of bread and wine, it reminds of the importance of our Christ centred community. 

The bread we break and the wine (summer fruits squash) that we drink centres us back on the story where Jesus is at the table - a story that centres on one man at a table who speaks of abundance, not frugality, of blessing, not curse, of restoration from brokenness, not the crumbs left behind....... and no more than now has our understanding of the value of table and our participation in it got to be affirmed and challenged. 

For those churches who are not able to meet around bread and wine at the moment as well as normal every day food because of theology and rule of institution, I'm sad for you, but as you eat and drink differently and make moments of agape around food, whether that's with family, on zoom, in supermarkets as you remember that everyone needs tinned tomatoes, be remembering the story that Jesus lived and told where the broken bread and shed wine speak of life in all its fullness. 

Life is grown around the table and it begins with story of Christ, who is the bread of life.

Let us celebrate that many more times over than the story of good bread (which also must be celebrated and will serve as a reminder of how much more we have than we might realise as it brings us back again to the story of Christ). 

"Jesus said, "I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever"           John 6:35 (The Message)