How Bread Makes Us One

 How many different kinds of bread can you name?

There's White bread, whole wheat, rye and pumpernickel. There's tortillas, rolls, bagels, croissants, na'an, pita and 'pandesal' (a favorite Filipino bread)

So this idea of bread is so important in every culture, we have lots of different types of and words for 'bread'. 

This story of the feeding of the multitude is so important in our history and tradition that versions of it appears 6 times in our 4 gospels. It's so important to John, the evangelist, that scholars say he uses this instead of the Last Supper story to give example of the Eucharistic meal: that Jesus feeds us both literally and figuratively.

What is different in Johns version of this story is that Jesus is the one taking the initiative: he wants to satisfy their hunger, he distributes the food, giving us a reminder of God's immense generosity. Thousands of years later, we can listen to this story and see how it is a glimpse of what is to come at the Last Supper: Jesus takes bread, blesses it and shares it with those around him...whether that's 5000 "men" or the 12 disciples gathered around that table.

 What does this mean for us today?

Whenever I reflect and pray about Eucharist I am always reminded of a question I heard so many years ago, that really haunts me: Am I a changed person, a different person, after I've received Eucharist? And if I'm not...why not?

 In John's account of this story, Jesus is seen at the service of his people. He recognizes their hunger, their need and looks to satisfy them.

Just like in the foot washing, we see a humble Jesus stooping to offer food to the crowd and kneeling to gather up the leftovers so nothing is wasted. And even though the story counts "5000 men" were fed, we know from the other accounts there were women and children there as well, even if they weren't counted, or in the eyes of some, "didn't count".

 Everyone mattered to Jesus that day on that mountainside.

He didn't discriminate between the folks who were there to hear him and the folks who were there looking for miracles:  they were all hungry and they all needed to be taken care of.

 What about us? How do we treat folks? I know we like to think we are welcoming and inclusive, both in our own lives and as a parish.

Some days we're really good at this aren't we?

Other days maybe we falter a little. Sometimes it seems to take a lot of effort to go out of my way to welcome someone at Church who I don't know.

Sometimes I can choose to be a real wallflower.  But oh! When I do get out of my own way and greet someone else, it's like the sunshine coming out after the rainstorm! The other person is so thrilled (most times!) to have someone recognize their presence and is happy to enter into the moment!

 Some days I just challenge myself to get over it...like at the lemonade stand when it's so much easier to catch up with the folks I already know, and miss for not having seen them in a while, but it's more important to say hello to the folks who are brand new and looking for a church home!

 Sometimes I ask myself what I'm afraid of...sometimes it is that someone looks mentally unstable and I should move to a different subway car, but sometimes it's just that someone dresses differently from me, or is playing music I may not really want to hear...but they're not doing anything wrong, so I need to check my attitude.

 I learned a lesson from a young man whose name I'll never remember, but whose story lives with me forever. I was volunteering in a small, poor parish (St Mary of the Angels in Egleston Square, one of the best parishes EVER!)  in the worst neighborhood in the worst neighborhood in Boston in 1987-8. Working with the youth group a young black teen explained to me that I would never understand what it was like to walk into a store and have security follow me around because it was assumed that I was there to steal something, not to shop. He's right, I'll never understand that. But I remember it every time I start to make an assumption about someone who looks different from me, and I pause to assess what I'm thinking and why I'm thinking that. Then I try to move on in a spirit of peace.

 And sometimes, because of what I've been taught along the way, I might just offer an affirmation to someone who crosses my path during the day: "love what your t-shirt says" or "what a beautiful color that is!" Most folks appreciate a compliment I'm learning.

 The story of the feeding of the 5000 can be seen as a foreshadowing of the Last Supper and the gift of Jesus' very self to us. Eucharist means we are all one in Christ. Do you believe that? If you do believe this - do your actions give witness to what you say you believe?

 May God help us be bread for one another today.