Terry’s Take… On Bread and Waistlines
Lately I’ve been struggling. Not in matters of faith or purpose or any significant matter.
But since I’ve switched to my summer wardrobe I’ve noticed a tightness around my waist. Buying “extra flex” pants make me believe (momentarily) that I’m ok. But in my heart, er stomach, I know better!
So I’ve tried to reduce my carbs and serving size. But I LOVE bread. Especially when it’s warm and served with a pat of butter.
Which got me thinking about bread. I came across this article:
Bread is such a staple food that it’s often synonymous with sustenance itself, as in “putting bread on the table,” “breadwinner,” or “daily bread.” Indeed, humans have been eating bread for a long, long time. The earliest loaf of bread ever discovered is a whopping 8,600 years old, unearthed at Çatalhöyük, a Neolithic settlement in what is now southern Turkey, comprised of mud-brick dwellings built on top of one another.
HistoryFacts.com, “The World’s Oldest Bread Loaf is More Than 8,000 Years Old” (n.d.)
While excavating the site, archaeologists found the remains of a large oven, and nearby, a round, organic, spongy residue among some barley, wheat, and pea seeds. After biologists scanned the substance with an electron microscope, they revealed that it was a very small loaf of uncooked bread. It had been fermented, like a sourdough loaf, and someone had pressed their finger in the center of it. The dough had been encased in clay, which allowed it to survive for thousands of years.
So it seems that there just may have been a few tight waistlines even in antiquity.
But what is really the oldest bread? It’s the Bread of God, through Christ, who gives us His body and blood at communion. Luther held that the body and blood of Jesus is “in under and with“ the bread and wine. The theological term for this is “consubstantiation.”
The Bread/Body of Christ has existed from the beginning of time. Before the universe began the precious Bread of Heaven was preserved for us… to feed us and give us strength for the journey. It is a joy and privilege we share as brothers and sisters in Christ that we can partake of this bread. And while it may “fatten” our spiritual growth through God’s grace… it won’t enlarge our waistlines.
Thanks be to God!