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"You
were called for the very purpose that you
might receive (inherit) a blessing
...." (1 Peter 3.9b)
_____________________________
Blessed
Jesus
blessed the bread.
In
doing so, He spoke words. Creative words. Words
that would elevate the bread beyond a simple,
common element to something quite special; bread
that would multiply and feed a multitude (Matt
14); bread that would open the eyes of those who
had been blind (Lk 24); bread that would impart
grace (Mk
14).
Blessed
bread becomes special bread. It serves more deeply
and widely than an ordinary loaf. It ministers to
more people and touches their lives in unexpected
ways. It retains the power to be a blessing,
even when it is broken and given. Brokenness does
not destroy the bread. On the contrary, it simply
extends its
reach.
Jesus
blessed the
bread.
While
blessed bread becomes extraordinary, non-blessed
bread can never be anything but
ordinary. Without the blessing it can feed
only a few and in only one way. Without the
blessing it lacks creative power. Without the
blessing it fails to multiply.
Jesus
blessed the bread. He also blesses
us.
Just
as His creative words magnified the ministry of
the common loaf, so His words do the same in and
through us. He takes us - chooses us - then
blesses us. When we hear that blessing with the
ear of our hearts, we can become a godly
blessing to multitudes. Until we hear it, we live
in the limitation of the
ordinary.
The
Father first pronounced the blessing when we made
Christ our Lord. "You are my beloved
child, in whom I am well-pleased ."
When
we receive that blessing in the deepest recesses
of our being, it changes us and can change
the world. Whereas fear once steered our lives,
now love takes the wheel. While we once
served others to find security, we now serve
others out of our security. And the limitations of
the past give way to deeper and wider ministry
than we ever
imagined.
In
the blessing we are prepared for the breaking. And
we discover that we have much in common with the
eucharistic
loaf.
Chosen.
Blessed. May we live grounded in those two
deeply Christian
verbs.
In
HOPE
-
David | 
