What sort of bread? by Rev. Trevor Jamison

18/02/2009 by idavidsonblog.

“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry.” (John 6: 35) So, if as he says, he is the bread of life what sort of bread is Jesus? In other words, if you were asked to imagine Jesus as a loaf of bread what sort would it be? There are many possible answers to that question and if you come up with one that I do not mention now please be sure to let me know what I missed out. For the moment, however, here are four suggestions for your consideration.  Let’s begin with the most popular type of bread on the supermarket shelf – the sliced loaf. This is presented to us, neatly packaged, with predicable, safe servings. It will not offend our sense of taste (for it has little or none) and is easily digested, though containing little in the way of nourishment. This is the Jesus of popular Western European imagination in our day. Like the sliced loaf he is usually experienced as white and unchallenging. He is reduced to the role of “good teacher”, with all the demanding bits about his life removed; the messiness concerning his death bleached away; and the challenge presented by his resurrection never added to the recipe. In this undemanding form Jesus enjoys an amazingly long shelf life. Nor is this Jesus absent from the churches. Recently I sat in a meeting in a room in a recently refurbished church. The walls were decorated with pictures relating to Victorian missionary work and a couple of large images of the white, fair haired, tastefully bearded Jesus surrounded by adoring children of different races. It may be that these were hung on the wall as an ironic comment on how we used to perceive Jesus but I’m not confident that this is the case. The United Reformed Church Jesus (in as much as the URC agrees on anything) is, of course, the wholemeal loaf. This brownish Jesus, more appealing to the right-thinking middle classes than any other group, is certainly nourishing. For some reason the wholemeal Jesus remains a minority taste, possibly because wholemeal, whilst it is perceived to be nourishing is seldom regarded as exciting, a duty rather than a delight. Both society and church would do well to remember a third possibility – the matzo bread Jesus. If you are ever in

Amsterdam and visit the brilliant Jewish Museum then making matzo bread is one of the children’s activities on offer there. In other words we all do well to remember that Jesus was a Jew, not a Christian (a Christian is a follower of Christ) and therefore be reminded that he is not just like us Western European Gentiles. This difference points us towards the fourth and final type of bread that might represent Jesus – a non-existent bread. To be like Jesus this bread must be popular amongst those who consume it, nourishing yet exciting at the same time, Jewish bread that sustains Gentiles as well. Whatever bread appeals to us for everyday eating, whatever bread is placed upon our communion table it can help us to remember Jesus, to experience Jesus’ presence in the here and now. They are all helpful signposts and experiences of Jesus though none tells the whole story. The wonder is that when we share bread and wine in worship they can become the vehicle through which we enter into the presence of God as we remember Jesus. And as for what sort of wine Jesus would be …

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