Newsletter April

Isn’t the aroma of fresh baked bread just magical? It is said that our sense of smell is the one most deeply attached to our memories. I guess that’s why certain smells can transport us to completely different moments in time. The aroma of fresh baked bread does that to me. One whiff and I am once again a child in my grandmother’s lap anticipating some celebratory feast with the whole family. One whiff and I am home.

I am often asked, “Pastor, what kind of bread should we use for Communion?” So, I thought I would make this third installment of “Why do we do that?” a message that addressed this question.

It is common for people to refer to Jesus’ Last Supper as the biblical point of reference for the kind of bread we ought to use for Communion. From this event we might quickly come to the conclusion that the bread for Communion ought to be some sort of unleavened bread, or matzo. After all, that is the proper bread that would be found on any table celebrating Passover, otherwise known as the feast of unleavened bread, which, technically speaking, is what the Last Supper was. According to the Exodus story, when the Children of Israel were leaving Egypt, they had no time to wait until their bread rose, so they baked it before it had a chance to rise (Exodus 12:39). Therefore the people celebrated the Passover with unleavened bread, and still do, to remember God’s deliverance for them from Egypt.

Our celebration of Holy Communion, however, is not a remembrance of Passover. Holy Communion is a present-tense partaking of our promised eternity in the Kingdom of Heaven. As we remember the mighty ways in which God has delivered His people through the events of ancient days, we remember as well the way that God has saved us now and continues to do so through the life, death and new life of Jesus. St. John wrote, “Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’’” Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.” Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty (John 6:31-35).

Holy Communion is so much more than merely a remembrance of Jesus’ Last Supper. It is the bread that came down from heaven. It is the bread which gives life to the world such that all who eat it will never go hungry. Holy Communion is, for the believer, a spiritual feast where we take in, quite literally, the grace of God. Therefore, we may want the loaf upon our worship table to reflect more than a memory of the Last Supper. We may want a fully leavened loaf of bread on our Communion table that reflects the fullness of life promised to us through faith in Jesus.

Such bread to us may seem like ordinary bread. It may not seem special enough. The flat matzo-like bread is so out of the ordinary that it may seem like it makes it more special to us. But, what’s really special about Communion? Is it that we use extra-ordinary bread? Or, is it that God changes the ordinary in us into something extraordinary for Jesus’ ministry? Through Communion God changes us, and for Jesus’ sake, prepares us for His eternal home.

This brings me back to where I began this letter. There’s really only one question to ask ourselves when considering what kind of bread we should use for Communion. It is this: Does this bread, this aroma, this taste, this texture--does it remind us of home? Not just any home, though, our eternal home, our home with Christ.