in the breaking of the bread

Easter is over and the snow is almost melted. Some plants like the Rhubarb and tulips are starting to poke their heads through and soon others will follow. A trip to the nursery fills ones head with warmth in the air and possibilities in the mind. We have just finished the celebration of New Life in the world and now we see it all around us. Along with the new life comes the mud in the lawn and on the streets, the construction season delays and the snow in the shadowy areas that tells us it is not quite time to plant for a couple more weeks. We are in those few weeks of spring called the waiting or transition time.

After the resurrection some of Jesus followers met him on the road and did not know it was him. No matter what Jesus had told them, their reality had told them he was gone. Then, in the breaking of the bread, in the sharing in community, Jesus was able to be seen among them. Some of the first words out of Jesus mouth were not to hang on to him.

We like to hang on to Jesus. We like to have him as our personal savior with a small “s” that we can pull out of our pockets when we wish, and at other times put him back out of the way. The weeks following Easter are about finding our way as a child of God in this world. In John we hear the words of Jesus, “I am the way” and even to this day there are many who try to make that an exclusive statement. Jesus’ way however was not exclusive, but rather inclusive. Jesus’ way was one of grace and salvation for all. One can only assume that the “all” Jesus died for on the cross did include “All” with a capital “A”. The extension of grace to those who crucified him and hung on a cross next to him only goes to emphasis this point. Jesus said, “I am the way” and that way extends to all of creation God called good.

We have recently seen the end of an era of sorts. Though God does not rejoice at the death of any man, nor do the followers of “the way” of Christ, the death of the master mind of El Qaeda opens our eyes and hearts and sensibilities to new possibilities. For the last ten years, the face of Islam has been distorted by the intent of this one man, and make no mistake there are many who will try to take his place, but a new face is emerging. The new face of Islam is a face of hope, a face of change. Whether the change takes place in Egypt, Yemen, Syria, or Libya, it is the face of those who hope for freedom and caring for one another.

Jesus was known in the breaking of the bread, the sharing of a meal. In doing so those participating in the meal would recognize one another as family and comrades. This is one of the reasons Jesus got in so much trouble by eating with the wrong people. Perhaps now is the time for us to recognize one another in the breaking of the bread and recognize that there are no wrong people with whom we share this meal. In sitting around the table with the stranger and calling them friend we find our eyes open to Christ among us. To recognize Jesus in our midst is the gift that comes from this act of sharing and acceptance.

I was asked one time why so many Lutheran pastors are liberals. I was tempted to answer in a flippant way noting the one thing we had in common is that we read the scriptures. A more honest answer is that I am not a liberal; I am a follower of Christ. Christ teaches us to share with one another, Christ calls us to love one another, Christ calls us to avoid the righteousness that so quickly becomes self-righteousness, Christ calls us to work for justice and show mercy in this world and to remember that what we do onto the least in the world, the community, the city and the state, we do onto Jesus. Great discrepancies in wealth distribution and the systems that promote it are an abomination and the antithesis of all Jesus stood for. Some may want to peg that into a political pigeon hole so that it can be more easily discounted. Jesus simply calls us to share a meal and recognize the presence of God as we recognize one another as brothers and sisters in the name of the one in whom we break bread together.