I went to church yesterday (Ash Wednesday.) It was raining and just a crummy day, but there were more people in church than I\u2019d seen in a long time. The lines were fairly long to get the ashes and for communion and although it\u2019s really not what I should have been thinking about standing in line, I got to wondering about bread and wine\u2026. why did Jesus choose bread and wine? Why not beer and pretzels, or coffee and donuts? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, I guess if you think about it, there probably weren\u2019t any microbreweries or Starbucks around then, and I believe the Last Supper was a Passover meal, and Passover meals featured unleavened bread and wine\u2026. with a sacrificed lamb. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bread and wine were probably chosen for both practical and symbolic reasons\u2026 bread was, and still is, a staple food in Jewish culture. It represented daily sustenance, and pretty much was \u201cthe bread of life.\u201d And wine was a regular part of festive meals \u2014 it symbolized joy and covenant blessings.\u00a0
Also, no matter where you lived in those times, bread and wine were part of life \u2014 they were common and accessible, so transforming these ordinary things into extraordinary symbols made a statement.
We are told that Jesus is the \u201cBread of Life,\u201d meaning that just like bread nourishes the body, Jesus nourishes the soul. And wine already had a spiritual symbolism, but Jesus give it deeper meaning by linking it to His sacrificial death.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So I imagine the choice of bread and wine was possibly\/probably because they were practical, meaningful and deeply rooted in Jewish religious tradition, and everyday life. Obviously, Jesus gave them more significance by tying them directly to His mission to bring salvation.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I guess now might be a good time to mention that I learned a new word \u2014 transubstantiation. It means the change of the whole substance of bread into the substance of the Body off Christ and of the whole substance of wine into the substance of His blood. The change is brought about in the eucharistic prayer through the efficacy of the word of Christ and by the action of the Hold Spirit.
Have a blessed Lent\u2026.
\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I went to church yesterday (Ash Wednesday.) It was raining and just a crummy day, but there were more people in church than I\u2019d seen in a long time. The lines were fairly long to get the ashes and for … Continue reading