BREAKING, NOT BAKING, BREAD
BREAKING, NOT MAKING BREAD.
.
I suppose you could say that it is food for thought. Might even be an occasion for a toast. There can be no loafing about though. If you want to make some dough, you will have knead to put your thinking caps on and come up with the next best idea since sliced bread if you want win this new contest. The prize is $50, 000 which is a lot of dough, certainly it is not crumbs, but real bread, man.
The first loaf of sliced bread was sold on July 7th, 1928. The idea was perfected by Otto Frederick Rohwedder, but it only became a success when he not only sliced the bread but also wrapped it as well. The saying should really be "the best thing since sliced and wrapped bread." At least its food for thought?
The John Montague, 4th Earl of Sandwich (1718-1792) is supposed to have invented the sandwich as a quick meal so as not to interrupt his gambling sessions. The simple ham sandwich is still the most popular sandwich in the US, and in second place is the BLT. How’s that for food for thought?
Now last Sunday we heard how Jesus fed the people using a small boy’s five barley loaves and two small fish. Jesus fed over 5000 people and had twelve baskets of food left over. When he and his disciples had finished all the people had enough food to eat and their hunger, their physical hunger was satisfied.
An old Irish man went to a diner every day for lunch. He always ordered the same thing - a bowl of soup. One day the manager asked him how he liked his meal. The old man replied "Was good, but you could give a little more bread."
So the next day the manager told the waitress to give him four slices of bread. "How was your meal, sir?" the manager asked. "Was good, but you could give a little more bread," came the old man’s reply.
So the next day the manager told the waitress to give him eight slices of bread. "How was your meal today, sir?" the manager asked. "Was good, but you could give maybe a little more bread," came the reply.
So...the next day the manager told the waitress to give him a whole loaf of bread with his soup. "How was your meal, sir?" the manager asked, when he came to hand him the bill. "Was good, but you could give maybe a little more bread," came the reply once again.
The manager was obsessed with seeing this customer say that he is satisfied with his meal, so he went to the bakery, and ordered a six-foot-long loaf of bread. When the man came in as usual the next day, the waitress and the manager cut the loaf in half, buttered the entire length of each half, and laid it out along the counter, right next to his bowl of soup. The old man sat down, and devoured his bowl of soup, and both halves of the six-foot-long loaf of bread.
The manager now thinks he will get the answer he is looking for, and when the old man came up to pay for his meal, the manager asked in the usual way, "How was your meal TODAY, sir?"
The old man replied, "It was good as as usual, but why are you back to giving only two slices bread!"
Sometimes people are very hard to satisfy. It is hard to know what exactly it is they are looking for. Some are more hungry than others.
When we speak today of "breaking bread", the meaning is clear: we are talking about dining. It surprises us to learn that the original meaning of this seemingly simple phrase, which dates back to Biblical times, actually did refer to the physical act of breaking bread. Even in days of antiquity bread was considered so essential to the maintenance of human life that there was no act more social than sharing one's bread with others. During those early days of our culture, people did not use forks and knives, but ate with their fingers. Thus, bread was never sliced, it was literally "broken" or torn apart in order to be shared.
Perhaps, we in our day, as Christians we are not hungry enough for God’s word. We, as the faithful, are perhaps so faithful, that we have forgotten what it was like to be hungry for God.
On Saturday morning, while on my way to breakfast with a group of runners, I encountered Daniel, a street person. He was hungry he said and was panhandling on Queen Street. I spoke to him to let him know that I didn’t have any change, but if he was still around I would catch him on my way back. He thanked me for being so kind. I hadn’t given him any money, but I did give him the time of day. On the way back, he was still there, so I knelt down beside him and asked him how he was doing. He apologized for being ‘drunk’ but he said he needed the ‘coor’s courage’ to beg. He told me he had a car accident back in 2000, and suffered a head injury. He took my hand and put it on his head, where there was a huge dent in his skull. He said he used to earn twenty dollars an hour crack-filling and when he got hurt, he couldn’t function any more, and everyone, including himself, couldn’t handle the change in his personality, that went from be quiet to rage in seconds. We talked for a while, I gave him some money, and shook hands. He thanked me for being so kind - most people ignore him he said, and who could blame them.
My encounter with Daniel reminds me of the hunger in the world around us, and right here on our doorstep. We as Christians maybe are not hungry enough?
Do you ever think about that. Why are we so fortunate and well-fed, and others so unfortunate and hungry. Daniel reminded me that our lives can change in an instant. One minute were are on top of the world- the next on skid row.
There is an advertizement on television at the moment. It’s a beer advert, and it first lists all the things that the world offers us and we know they are fake; wrestling, people pay big bucks for fake entertainment, fake tattoos, fake relationships, fake breasts, fake watches, and of course they offer ‘real beer’ that satisfies your thirst, which is also a fake promise.
Only Christ can satisfy the hunger and thirst within us.
Jesus is the Bread of Life.
The first loaf of sliced bread was sold on July 7th, 1928. The idea was perfected by Otto Frederick Rohwedder, but it only became a success when he not only sliced the bread but also wrapped it as well. The saying should really be "the best thing since sliced and wrapped bread." At least its food for thought?
The John Montague, 4th Earl of Sandwich (1718-1792) is supposed to have invented the sandwich as a quick meal so as not to interrupt his gambling sessions. The simple ham sandwich is still the most popular sandwich in the US, and in second place is the BLT. How’s that for food for thought?
Now last Sunday we heard how Jesus fed the people using a small boy’s five barley loaves and two small fish. Jesus fed over 5000 people and had twelve baskets of food left over. When he and his disciples had finished all the people had enough food to eat and their hunger, their physical hunger was satisfied.
An old Irish man went to a diner every day for lunch. He always ordered the same thing - a bowl of soup. One day the manager asked him how he liked his meal. The old man replied "Was good, but you could give a little more bread."
So the next day the manager told the waitress to give him four slices of bread. "How was your meal, sir?" the manager asked. "Was good, but you could give a little more bread," came the old man’s reply.
So the next day the manager told the waitress to give him eight slices of bread. "How was your meal today, sir?" the manager asked. "Was good, but you could give maybe a little more bread," came the reply.
So...the next day the manager told the waitress to give him a whole loaf of bread with his soup. "How was your meal, sir?" the manager asked, when he came to hand him the bill. "Was good, but you could give maybe a little more bread," came the reply once again.
The manager was obsessed with seeing this customer say that he is satisfied with his meal, so he went to the bakery, and ordered a six-foot-long loaf of bread. When the man came in as usual the next day, the waitress and the manager cut the loaf in half, buttered the entire length of each half, and laid it out along the counter, right next to his bowl of soup. The old man sat down, and devoured his bowl of soup, and both halves of the six-foot-long loaf of bread.
The manager now thinks he will get the answer he is looking for, and when the old man came up to pay for his meal, the manager asked in the usual way, "How was your meal TODAY, sir?"
The old man replied, "It was good as as usual, but why are you back to giving only two slices bread!"
Sometimes people are very hard to satisfy. It is hard to know what exactly it is they are looking for. Some are more hungry than others.
When we speak today of "breaking bread", the meaning is clear: we are talking about dining. It surprises us to learn that the original meaning of this seemingly simple phrase, which dates back to Biblical times, actually did refer to the physical act of breaking bread. Even in days of antiquity bread was considered so essential to the maintenance of human life that there was no act more social than sharing one's bread with others. During those early days of our culture, people did not use forks and knives, but ate with their fingers. Thus, bread was never sliced, it was literally "broken" or torn apart in order to be shared.
Perhaps, we in our day, as Christians we are not hungry enough for God’s word. We, as the faithful, are perhaps so faithful, that we have forgotten what it was like to be hungry for God.
On Saturday morning, while on my way to breakfast with a group of runners, I encountered Daniel, a street person. He was hungry he said and was panhandling on Queen Street. I spoke to him to let him know that I didn’t have any change, but if he was still around I would catch him on my way back. He thanked me for being so kind. I hadn’t given him any money, but I did give him the time of day. On the way back, he was still there, so I knelt down beside him and asked him how he was doing. He apologized for being ‘drunk’ but he said he needed the ‘coor’s courage’ to beg. He told me he had a car accident back in 2000, and suffered a head injury. He took my hand and put it on his head, where there was a huge dent in his skull. He said he used to earn twenty dollars an hour crack-filling and when he got hurt, he couldn’t function any more, and everyone, including himself, couldn’t handle the change in his personality, that went from be quiet to rage in seconds. We talked for a while, I gave him some money, and shook hands. He thanked me for being so kind - most people ignore him he said, and who could blame them.
My encounter with Daniel reminds me of the hunger in the world around us, and right here on our doorstep. We as Christians maybe are not hungry enough?
Do you ever think about that. Why are we so fortunate and well-fed, and others so unfortunate and hungry. Daniel reminded me that our lives can change in an instant. One minute were are on top of the world- the next on skid row.
There is an advertizement on television at the moment. It’s a beer advert, and it first lists all the things that the world offers us and we know they are fake; wrestling, people pay big bucks for fake entertainment, fake tattoos, fake relationships, fake breasts, fake watches, and of course they offer ‘real beer’ that satisfies your thirst, which is also a fake promise.
Only Christ can satisfy the hunger and thirst within us.
Jesus is the Bread of Life.
posted by vesuvius2 @ 10:26 AM
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