The image of bread

People have used a variety of images throughout history to portray concepts and excite our imagination: the power of a lion’s roar, the majesty of a soaring eagle, and the beauty of a rose. One image that has been used for centuries, but is being lost today, is bread. Yes, bread! Jesus tells us, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall never hunger.” (John 6:35).

 

Bread was a universal food found in every household; it was something people built their lives around; it was something that people depended on. Bread also held a sense of mystery in early times. The process of making bread began by grinding wheat to dust, often between stones. This laborious process became easier as the industrial revolution advanced, and people living in urban areas were usually fortunate to be able to buy flour. People in rural areas understood the process of grinding wheat with hand mills well. Mixing the newly formed flour with a little water and then adding a little yeast mysteriously caused the dough to rise, giving it a life of its own. Through kneading and placing the dough in the right environment, it begins to transform into something new. In times past, the Dutch oven was as crucial to every kitchen as is our modern-day refrigerator. The sweet aroma of the baked bread signified life and the sustenance that helped families to get through the day.

 

The image of bread takes on a different meaning today. Grain is genetically modified, steel machinery is used to mill the wheat, and flour is dosed with processed yeast, and large automated ovens do the baking. Preservatives are often used to make a cheap, long-lasting, and stylish product. Once finished, the product is often coated with attractive plastic wrapping and prepared for shipping. This multi-millennial staple food has now become just one of many things the shopper tosses into the cart on the way home from work.

 

In this modern age, where most everything is easily attainable and specialized for marketability, the Christian must not allow Jesus’ use of the image of bread to be trivialized. Its use and meaning were intended for much more than filling the belly or comfort provided by a delicious meal.

 

Just as making bread requires work, time, knowledge, and experience, so do our lives as we invite Jesus more deeply into our families, relationships, and work. The temptation in a world filled with comforts and shortcuts is that we place less time, attention, and care into a quality relationship with Jesus and those around us. Overusing social media, reducing quality family time, and failing to prioritize can be dangerous habits that shortchange the leaven of an authentic, Christ-filled life. Christ gives himself to us so that we might become more like him.

 

In 107 AD, while on his way to martyrdom after being captured for being a Christian, St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote a letter to the Roman church, encouraging them not to intervene so that he might give his life for Christ. He said: “I am God’s wheat, and I shall be ground by the teeth of beasts, that I may become the pure bread of Christ.” We may not be called to this same ending; however, we are to give without counting the cost.

 

Like wheat, Jesus “was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities” (Is. 53:4). He says: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (Jn. 12:24). As freshly make dough rises with a sense of mystery that Jesus’ hearers could not understand, so too, “He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.” (Job 5:9) in our own lives.