From Stable to Table

From Stable To Table

The famine of the Word of God,

Finished: The word in full: Supplied,

The Word fulfilled, The Word made flesh 

Jehovah Jireh would provide:

Into the House of Bread

Long before the bread was torn

In Bethlehem where he laid his head

He came: The Bread of Life was Born,

Being in very nature God

He took on flesh, to be one with us, 

He took on himself our sin and sorrow

The bread was broken on the cross,

His Body broken now for us

Born into the House of Bread,

Provision of the bread was made,

That would feed us evermore,

And in the manger, the babe was laid.

And on the cross his body splayed

For the bread of God comes down From heaven,

Whoever comes to him, He'll never turn away,

And they will never need go hungry,

And he shall raise them on the final day,

And brethren, we are his body now,

And broken often, yet we are one,

One bread-one body-one church-one Lord,

And so, now in unison we come,

Because we partake of his bread,

We are one,

So to his table, 

We now come

Reflections: House of Bread

This is my final poem. I had half a mind to leave it without further explanation but I gave in to the desire to comment, just for the sake of context really.

This poem was written, unlike the others in the series, in real time. in that it was finished today.

 I had a commission to write something for my fellowship's Christmas eve communion service. As soon as it was mentioned I got a little excited because of the bread connection to Bethlehem.

Bethlehem means 'house of bread'.

You may recall that Jesus responds to the crowds questioning in John 6 by calling himself the bread of heaven. 

So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’[c]”

Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” ~John 6:30-33

All the allusions to bread are very well known. I don't need to labour the point any more than I already have. But for me it was in the provision of this bread, at the incarnation, (in Bethlehem) that got me buzzing. The famine of the word of the Lord (prophesied in Amos 8) came to an end after 400 years, at the Birth of Christ, In The House of Bread!!

Then, of course there is the joining of the concepts of unity, which is fascinating to me. That Jesus took on flesh to be one with us. That we are united with him through his death. We partake of his body, in communion, and we are one with him. Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf. (1 Cor 10:17). So there is a beautiful complete circle to all this.

The one thing I will say is that this poem has one of the most jarring 'jump-cuts' I have ever written.

I'm not sorry for it. Even if it doesn't feel Christmassy to you. The jump-cut is from the cradle to the cross. The babe laid to the Saviour splayed. But this is the purpose for which he came. There is no getting around it. And it is more powerful for it's juxtaposition.

Like the ram caught in the thicket. Jehovah Jireh provided the sacrifice that was  in our stead.

His one and only son.

~Scripture~

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

~John 3:16~