Food for the journey: bite-sized spiritual nourishment - bread

Reading/ John 6:1-15; 25-51

Reflection/
Yesterday, a friend was asking me for a particular bread recipe. Later, it got me to thinking on John 6 - and reading again the story of Jesus inviting a rather big group of folk to share in a picnic lunch, and then later, referring to himself as
'the bread of life' when talking with his friends.

Given we're now officially in 'lockdown', there'll be no group picnicking for a good wee while; we are all of us just trying to work out how to navigate through these physically distanced, strange, uncharted COVID-19 waters we find ourselves in. As I thought of the bible reading, of bread, and of stories of people rediscovering baking due to a combination of time on hands and empty shelves in supermarkets, I also thought about life essentials and was reminded of preaching on this text last year, and asking the question: 'what do you hunger for?' 

At the moment, for many, it's an understandable hunger to feel safe and to stay well.
But, we also need food - both for body and for soul.
For those not on the so-called 'front lines', this time of enforced hunkering down in our homes can bring with it a mix of emotions and reactions and frustrations, but in an odd way, it might also just end up becoming a small gift. How to enter into this unexpected Sabbath, this unlooked for time and space?
So many of us may be more used to rushing about in all the every day business of human doing...
With our usual routines disrupted, maybe this time of slowing down offers us the time for human being -
time to slow down, time for families in one household to spend more time together [how's the home schooling going, folks?], time to phone or check in over the fence with our more vulnerable neighbours, time to rediscover old talents or learn some new skills, time to take stock, time to find our centre once again.
Time.
Perhaps this is a time for a great big collective pause to catch our breath.

What do you hunger for?
Maybe it's just to find a way to get through all of this. Fair enough. But how?
When I have time, I love making bread – the slow way – there’s something about the rhythm and process that lends itself to de-stressing, and for me, to prayer and meditation:
mixing, kneading, waiting, knocking back, kneading again, waiting...eventually baking.
Good bread takes time and patience and rewards you with something truly good to chew on -
a little bit like Jesus' words... sometimes you have to work a little more to get what he's saying, but with time and patience, they're words worth chewing on as well.
Given I have some time now because I'm not travelling about the parish, I'm taking up bread making again - though this time, with a twist. Something I've wanted to try for a long time is making sourdough bread, so, as of Monday, I've made the starter and am getting into the rhythm of feeding it over the next wee while until I can finally use it to make bread - 7 days to go. It may or may not work, but that's fine, because of the gift of time.

However you're approaching this particularly strange time we're in, stay in touch -
we may be physically separate, but we are still community.
What projects are you taking on? Share them in the reply box below.
And if the gift of time isn't quite feeling like such a gift, and is hanging heavy, well, there's
time to talk and time to listen - call a friend, or get in touch with me if you just want a blether.
We will get through this - with care, with kindness, and maybe even with bread.
Take care and stay safe, folks.

In the meanwhile, if you're up for a meditative activity, why not make some space to make some bread? There's a very simple recipe at the bottom of the post if you'd like to knock out a loaf sometime. As you make it, think of your favourite types of bread, and all the many different varieties of bread around the world.
And... some questions for reflection:    *What do you most appreciate about bread?
    *What is your favourite kind of bread - and why?
    *What does the phrase “the bread of life” stir in your mind?
    *Think about Jesus’ statement that he is the bread of life - what does that mean to you?

Prayer/ 

Even if you haven’t time to make bread, you might like to use the following prayer: 

There is nothing like the smell of baked bread. 

It fills a room, a house, with delicious aroma. 

It promises nourishment and confirms availability. 

It creates the sense of wellbeing and goodness and comfort... 

Lord, into this world let the living bread create such aroma. 

Let your love, justice and goodness travel far, wide and deep; 

let your spirit instil a sense of hope and wellbeing and comfort

in our homes, villages, nation, and world; 

let your grace be an ingredient available at the centre of everything. Amen.

Basic 4-step bread recipe/
Ingredients:
500g granary, strong wholewheat or white bread flour; [granary is my favourite]
7g sachet fast-action dried yeast;  1 tsp salt;  2 tblsp olive oil;  1 tblsp clear honey
Method:

1. Tip the flour, yeast and salt into a large bowl and mix together with your hands.
   Stir 300ml hand-hot water with the oil and honey,
   then stir into the dry ingredients to make a soft dough.
2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 mins, until the dough no longer feels sticky, sprinkling with a little more flour if you need it.
3. Oil the loaf tin and put the dough in the tin, pressing it in evenly.
   Put in a large plastic food bag and leave to rise for 1 hr, until the dough has risen to fill the tin and it no longer springs back when you press it with your finger. 
4. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
   Make several slashes across the top of the loaf with a sharp knife,
   then bake for 30-35 mins until the loaf is risen and golden.
   Tip it out onto a cooling rack and tap the base of the bread to check it is cooked.
   It should sound hollow. Leave to cool.

And a little humour/

Feeding the 5 000 - revisited