Readings:
Acts 7: 51-8:1
John 6: 30-35

Reflection:
The smell of freshly baked bread is something that arouses all the senses. A smell that is welcoming, homemaking, a heavenly smell. Often, in the process of making bread, flour spills, and dough goes up in the air as we turn it over and flop it down on the bench. Kneading to seal the creases, hoping the yeast will activate and the dough is the correct consistency to hold shape.
Often you will find in our house, sister will come along to do the hard part. Stretching the dough out, tugging at it for all we are worth, pounding and stretching it some more. A sense of being hard on this piece of dough; near ruthless and then………comes His soft whisper.
“This is the way they treated my body.’ He gently, sweetly, reminds me of His presence. “They had no regard for it; beat on it, tugged it, punched it; my body was treated with disdain”
As we hear today, the connection runs deep; Jesus referred to Himself as the bread of life, the satisfaction for the hunger and thirst within our souls.
Wow – need we really say more!!
As we continue to soak in the light of the resurrection the scripture illustrates that Jesus continued to serve others with food after His resurrection. He fed the disciples after a weary night of fishing and welcomed them to dine with him. Encountering the disciples on the road to Emmaus, they didn’t recognize the resurrected Jesus until the moment He broke bread with them
Holding on to the scripture today, while the people look for a miracle, let us be that miracle to others. Breaking bread together which involves more than baking or eating; it’s about serving people and spending time with each other. It’s about slowing down, sharing stories. It does not need to be fancy or elaborate, rather simply pull up an extra chair at the table, open the circle a little wider. Let’s open our hearts and embrace the living bread of life as we come together in fellowship through the ministry of breaking bread.
Sr Karen Englebretsen CP, Cross and Passion Sisters. blessed to be a spiritual care worker in the homeless sector in Melbourne.