Maundy Thursday Bread

Bread for Breakfast: the first meal of the day.
• Matthew 6:9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’”

I’ll bet you’ve never thought of your hours of sleep as fasting but that’s what they are. This “break-fast” meal is nourishment that only comes from heavenly food.  The downloadable graphic image at the left is created by Pastor Greg Long and used with his permission.  Click on the image to enlarge it and print.   Jesus’s familiar prayer can become bread for your daily nourishment.

Bread for Lunch: A meal eaten in the middle of the day.
• John 6:32 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven…35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life.

Lunch is often a meal eaten on the run, “sandwiched” in between that first awakening and the end of the day. Doesn’t that sound like a metaphor for the span of our life on earth? Jesus declares “it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven…I am the bread of life.”  He is our spiritual nourishment for this “middle of the day meal” we call life.

Bread for Supper: the final meal of the day.
• Matthew 26:26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” 27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.“

Jesus had probably eaten many evening suppers with his closet friends. Unlike  other meals they’d shared, this “last” supper was to become one they’d never forget.  A simple piece of bread and an ordinary cup would become enduring reminders for his followers of a life link between them.  Jesus still honors his covenant to nourish “his” life within us through that bread and cup.  He doesn’t need to be reminded about that, but today we do.