There’s Always More Bread

“There’s always more bread.”

I’ll often say that to Communion servers if there’s any concern that we haven’t set out enough elements for the meal. “There’s always more bread.”

It may sound practical enough. There’s always more bread because I could always rip off smaller pieces from the loaf if I had to (although I prefer to give you each a proper chunk; forgive me if I break off more than you can chew). What’s more, we could raid the box of gluten free wafers in the sacristy, or even dig through the snack cabinet in the kitchen. And if worse came to worst, we could send someone to the grocery store in the middle of distribution. We would do everything we could to get our hands on additional elements for Communion if we were at risk of running out.

There’s always more bread.

But that’s more than just a practical statement; it’s a theological statement, too. There’s always more bread because there’s no end to God’s goodness and love. I appreciate the way Daniel Erlander, Lutheran pastor and illustrator, explains the significance of meal fellowship in his Holy Communion handbook for children and their caregivers:

[One way that Jesus] showed God’s love was by eating with people. In the land where Jesus lived, eating dinner with someone was very special. It was a way of saying, “I am your friend and I want you to be my friend for all of my life! I am happy that we are together!”

One day Jesus fed over five thousand people in a grassy field. Everyone was welcome. Nobody was turned away.

After giving thanks to God, Jesus broke the bread. He shared the food with everybody. All had enough to eat. All were satisfied.

The leftover food filled twelve baskets. All the people knew that…

Jesus loves everybody.[1]

You’ll recognize the reference to our Gospel from John today. This story must have made quite an impression on the early church because it’s the only miracle account that made its way into all four Gospels. And why not? The feeding of the five thousand is a striking portrayal of God’s absurd and indiscriminate generosity, God’s desire to meet the needs of the whole world with daily bread and mercy.

This story is also an encouragement to faith. What appears to be scarce is in fact abundant in Jesus’ hands; where we hold back our hope, Jesus leans into possibility. In spite of our worrying and planning and micromanaging, the miraculous feeding reminds us yet again that all we have comes by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.^[2]

There’s always more bread… and more wine, for that matter! Just ask the guests at the wedding in Cana.[3]

In any case, Holy Communion is perhaps the closest parallel we have to the feeding of the five thousand. That is, the Lord’s Table is the place where we most routinely witness divine generosity in response to human need. Here we see week after week that in God’s economy, there is always more than enough. And what could be better news for those of us who are reluctant to see our own hunger reflected in the eyes of all others? What could be better news when we are inclined to share meals only with our preferred company?

Sara Miles was raised an atheist. As a young adult, she worked as a cook and eventually traveled the world as a journalist reporting from the frontlines of revolutionary conflict. Everywhere she went, the people she met had both hunger and food in common,[4] regardless of their culture and circumstances, which is to say feeding and eating were important parts of her life long before she wandered into Saint Gregory’s Episcopal Church in San Francisco one Sunday morning. It was there that she had a powerful experience of conversion at Holy Communion. And as she began to dip her toe into congregational life, she discovered that her emerging faith centered on real hunger and real human lives:

[Excerpt from Take This Bread, pp.96-7]

Friends, there’s always more bread because there’s always more room at the Lord’s Table for hungry people.

Let me conclude my sermon today with two invitations. First, if you are curious about Holy Communion for yourself or a loved one, perhaps a child in your life, please stay tuned for an orientation coming up soon. And second, if you’ve never had the chance to prepare and serve Communion, please consider signing up to do so. You’ll get training too, and you’ll catch on quickly. In any case, you’ll never have to worry about running out because there’s always more bread.

[1] A Place for You, 4, 6.

[2] Bishop Wayne Miller, Metropolitan Chicago Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

[3] John 2:1-11.

[4] Take This Bread, 50.