by Naomi Moon
Breaking Bread
You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking this SoundCloud link.
“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.’”
John 6:35 English Standard Version
“When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.”
Luke 24:30-31 English Standard Version
One of the easiest ways that I have found to get to know another person is to eat together, to break bread together. Our family will often invite others into our home for fresh baked sourdough bread and pizza nights, which leads to good conversation and connection.
Taking these two verses from John and Luke together is an interesting perspective on Christ. He calls himself the bread of life, in which we must partake in order to be fully satiated. Then, later on the road to Emmaus when Christ explains himself in all of the Scriptures, the men with him did not recognize him until he broke bread with them.
We know God through fellowship with him in His Son, Jesus Christ, the bread of life. As much as I would have liked to be on that road listening to Jesus explain the Scriptures, we do not experience Jesus in the same way today. Instead, he has given us Holy Communion, where we as a community of believers gather around this bread of life, the body of Christ given to us on the cross. This is how we know Jesus, this is how we experience Jesus today, in a tangible way. Every time I break bread with someone else, I think about Christ being with us in that meal and community. We can rejoice in his presence.
Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado
