For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. ~ 1 Cor. 11:23-26 (CEB)
“To identify the movements of the Spirit in our lives, I have found it helpful to use four words: taken, blessed, broken, and given. These words summarize my life as a priest because each day, when I come together around the table with members of my community, I take bread, bless it, break it, and give it. These words also summarize my life as a Christian because, as a Christian, I am called to become bread for the world: bread that is taken, blessed, broken and given. Most importantly, however, they summarize my life as a human being because in every moment of my life somewhere, somehow the taking, the blessing, the breaking and the giving are happening.
I must tell you at this point that these four words have become the most important words of my life. Only gradually has their meaning become known to me, and I feel that I won’t ever know their full profundity. They are the most personal as well as the most universal words. They express the most spiritual as well as the most secular truth. They speak about the most divine as well as the most human behavior. They reach high as well as low, embrace God as well as all people. They succinctly express the complexity of life and embrace its ever-unfolding mystery. They are the keys to understanding not only the lives of the great prophets of Israel and the life of Jesus of Nazareth, but also our own lives. I have chosen them not only because they are so deeply engraved in my being, but also because, through them, I have some into touch with the ways of becoming the Beloved of God.” ~From Life of the Beloved by Henri J. M. Nouwen
Help me this day O Lord, to become the bread for the world. May I be a blessing to someone that I meet along the journey this day. May I remember to be a blessing I must give of myself and that I do this all for Your glory. Amen.
Pieces of the Puzzle 