Silverware

"Then Jesus declared, 'I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty'" John 6:35.

Sometimes we refer to sharing a meal as the breaking of bread. In Jesus' time this phrase had a richer and more practical meaning.

Typically, when we eat we apportion individual servings from a common dish onto our plate. Some occasions, such as chips and salsa, require all to plunge their portion into a communal bowl and hence the warning, "No double dipping!"

Jesus and his contemporaries would have been well acquainted with the need to refrain from said practice. Their meals were served like our chips and salsa. There were no individual portions. Everyone ate from the same pot. To avoid contamination diners used an particular type of silverware - a piece of bread.

"Bread was not the meal. Bread is the knife, fork and spoon with which the meal was eaten." Kenneth E. Bailey, Poet and Peasant, pg 123.

When Jesus referred to Himself as the Bread of Life in John 6:35 He wasn't equating Himself to just a primary source of sustenance, but also as the role of bread as Middle Eastern flatware. He is the absolute main utensil in order to partake of everything needed for life.

With Jesus as our silverware we're never a source of contamination to ourselves or others. In addition, Middle Eastern bread is typically either seasoned to compliment the meal or salted in order to enhance the food's flavor. As our bread, Jesus adds flavors to our life and prevents it from becoming ho-hum and boring.

In a Middle Eastern meal the one without bread goes hungry. Everything needed to meet one's needs and satisfy one's hunger is so close-but inaccessible. This is true of life. Without Jesus as our means to consistently receive nourishment - we die.

Just as the diner's portion of bread was torn from the loaf in order to provide access to the food, Christ's body was torn so we can access real life through Him. Communion reminds us of this and provides the opportunity to re-member with Him.

How about you? How does Jesus as your silverware enhance the fares life serves you? How does He add zest and flavor particularly to those portions we'd just as soon skip over? With him as the main facilitator of all we ingest, what does this say about being contamination free?