Shared Bread

Shared Bread

As they sat down to eat, [Jesus] took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them.

Luke 24:30

On church Sundays typical Amish families don’t rush home because there is a roast in the oven. Instead they participate in an after-church meal. When I first asked my Amish friends about this, I expected them to describe something similar to a church potluck but with Amish whoopie pies, fresh cinnamon rolls, and homemade sausage on the menu. My jaw dropped when I learned that the most common items were bread, Amish spread (peanut butter sweetened with marshmallow or molasses), and pickled beets! The drinks are black coffee and water, and a social time usually follows the meals.

When did you last take time to break bread with those in your church community, at church potlucks or in some other way? While the point of gathering around the table is to nourish our bodies, connecting with others feeds our souls, too. The Bible talks about this in Acts 2:46: “Day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts” (ESV).

In almost every other generation except the one in which we live, bread was seen as the mainstay of life. To share your bread was to give a piece of your daily living to another. It meant that you weren’t keeping everything for yourself but rather depended on God to provide what you needed.

Whether Jesus was multiplying the contents of a young boy’s lunch basket or gathering with His followers in an upper room, He set the example of feeding the soul by feeding the body first.

Have you shared lunch with a church friend recently? What you eat doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Amish-style works just fine!

Dear heavenly Father, too often I plan where to eat after church, but I fail when it comes to planning get-togethers with others. Thank You for showing me that I need to feed my soul with friendships as well as feed my body with food.