Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

1610 Carlisle Road, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania  17011

Phone: (717) 737-0439 / Fax: (717) 737-5421

 Email: gelc@comcast.net

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Devotion for the week of August 1, 2006

            Many of the Sunday’s gospel readings in this month of August deal with bread.  Bread is one of those staples of life.  We tend to eat bread at all meals, whether in the form of toast, sandwich roll, or biscuit.  Bread is part of our meals.  It is a common food that fills our stomach.

            Bread is part of the church meal, too.  At church we regularly celebrate Holy Communion and share bread and wine, the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.  This bread fills our spirit with the grace of God.  There is indeed something holy about breaking bread whether it is in our homes or in the church.

            In noting the significance of bread in our lives, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ goes a step further and says, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35).  Jesus is the sustenance for our life.  All good gifts find their source in God’s Son.  That is how Luther understands the phrase “daily bread” in the Lord’s Prayer, that it consists of all we need for daily living.

            Most particularly, we remember God’s gift of everlasting life.  In the Holy Communion meal we remember this gift of salvation given for us.  It is symbolized in the literal breaking of the bread.  After we hear the words of institution, how Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples, and how he did the same with the cup…after we hear those words, the pastor breaks the bread.  It is at that point that I always remember the suffering of Christ on the cross.  I reflect about the broken body of Christ hanging in shame.  And, then the bread is shared with all people.  One loaf is fractioned into many pieces to be shared with all.  In the same way, Christ died for all that all might have life.  And, we who partake of the bread of Communion share in the one body of Jesus Christ.

            Bread is a precious gift of life.  As you enjoy a meal with family and friends and break bread…as you share the Communion meal with the church family, think about what it means that our Lord described himself as bread, in that God in Christ provides for all our needs and promises eternal life.  Jesus Christ is the bread of life. 

            Let us pray…Thank you, Lord, for sustaining us with bread for our bodies and with bread for our spirits.  Help us live a life of gratitude in response for all the blessings you shower upon us through your Son, Jesus Christ, the bread of life.  In His Name we pray…Amen. 

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