Sunday Meditation 3

In the “House of Bread,” a Babe Is Born

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a Hebrew word meaning “House of Bread.” As a babe, he was placed in a manger — a trough used to hold food for animals. In a parable, Jesus compared himself to wheat, saying, “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” As an adult, Jesus called himself, the “Bread of Life.” During the last meal with his closest followers, he performed a simple ritual where he broke bread and said, “Take and eat; this is my body.”

Bread is foundational throughout the ancient world. It is basic. It’s a staple. It follows a similar path from fields to tables:

Ground is prepared. Seeds sown. Weeds pulled. Wheat-growers, heartened by early and late rains, wait patiently for crops to mature — God gives the increase; it takes about 120 days. After first fruits are selected, stalks of wheat are cut, bundled and threshed. Workers gather the pickings from threshing floor into a basket, which they repeatedly flick skyward, letting chaff drift away with the wind and saving the grain — some is kept to plant next season; some is made into bread.

It’s notable that, in a fashion similar to wheat being cut off from its roots, Jesus — the Messiah — was cut off from his people. And, as wheat bundles are beaten, Jesus was beaten. As grain and chaff are tossed into the wind, Christ’s followers were scattered — some drifting away forever; others gathered together for the next chapter in their lives.

I share the idea of Jesus as bread because, during this holiday of holy days, it helps to escape from the glitter and glamor. Jesus isn’t about champagne and caviar in bawdy ballrooms; he’s about home-made loaves and home-brewed wine in an intimate upper-room setting.

Like so much in our materialistic society, Christmas is bottom-lined — with an eye on profits, not prophets. As an adult, at the very peak of his powers and prowess, Jesus upended the money-changers from the Temple. Would he do any less today? Could he do any less? I hope not . . . but, then, I see the Babe of Bethlehem as the sovereign God’s initial punch-mark in the time-line of human history; a love-tap of sorts. I suspect his next mark will be more substantial and spectacular.

Sunday Meditation 1: The Prodigal Son

Sunday Meditation 2: Ode to Jim Elliot

My Testimony: Stealing Psalm 40

Jim Lamb is a retired journalist living in Florida. He’s author of “Orange Socks & Other Colorful Tales,” the story of how he survived Vietnam and kept his sense of humor. He accepted Christ at a Sunday chapel service in Da Nang. For more about Jim, visit www.jslstories.com.