God Gives the Meal to the Baptized

READING | Luke 3:15–17, 21–22 | Gospel Reading for the Baptism of Our Lord
 

¹⁵As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah,  ¹⁶John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  ¹⁷His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

²¹Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened,  ²²and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."

REFLECTION | God Gives the Meal to the Baptized

Remembering Jesus' baptism--as we do each January--prompts us also to remember our own baptism.  I was baptized just 15 days after I was born by my grandfather, who is a Lutheran minister.  In Baptism, God "brings about forgiveness of sins, redeems from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe it, as the words and promise of God declare" (Martin Luther's Small Catechism).

In addition to bringing forgiveness, redemption, and eternal salvation, God also brings to the baptized an invitation to the Table, in my understanding of the sacraments.  The Use of the Means of Grace states, "Admission to the Sacrament is by invitation of the Lord, presented through the Church to those who are baptized" (Principle 37).

When it came to time to baptize our firstborn child Jonathan, my wife and I also brought him to the communion table later in the service.  Jonathan received his "First Communion" the same day he was baptized. 

That was over three years ago.  Since then, he has learned to drink and eat, talk and walk, sing and pray.  He has worshipped at Daddy's church and Mommy's church.  He has watched our friend Bette prepare the wine and grape juice for communion and helped her clean up afterward.  He has a limited understanding of the sacraments, but he knows when it's time to come forward, he will receive the bread and the wine along with the rest of the baptized.  As his parent and his pastor, I will help Jonathan learn about Communion as he grows up.  And I am sure that I will grow in my own understanding of the meal as I do so.

The Use of the Means of Grace: A Statement on the Practice of Word and Sacrament was adopted for "guidance and practice" by the Fifth Biennial Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America on Aug. 19, 1997.  It focuses on Holy Baptism and Holy Communion and other aspects of worship.  I will refer to this document frequently in these blog posts.  It is available as a free pdf download at www.elca.org.

RECIPE | Communion Bread, Grace Lutheran, Thornville,Ohio

This is the communion bread I grew up with.  As a child, it was the sweetness of the honey that made the bread so appealing. 

Ingredients
3 ¾ cups whole wheat flour
1 ¼ cups regular all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons oil
1 ¾ cups water (approx.)
½ cup honey (approx.)

Directions

Mix dry ingredients together.  Cut in oil.  Stir honey into water and then add mixture to the flour.  Dough should be sticky and VERY wet.  Divide into thirds and press into greased cake or pie pans.  Lightly brush with oil.  Press lines into the bread with a straight-edge or ruler if you desire “breaking lines” for easy distribution.  Decorative crosses or other symbols may also be made.

Bake at 350 degrees for 18 minutes (325 degrees for glass pans).  Remove bread and lightly paint the surface with oil.  Return to oven and bake for 10 minutes more.

Bread may be baked in advance and kept in the freezer.  Be sure to wrap ad seal well as the bread will dry out quickly, especially n the freezer.  Ordinarily it should be removed the night before the communion service and thawed at room temperature, kept in the sealed plastic bag to retain moisture.

Tips from the Bread Bakers

If you can fit only two loaves in your oven at a time, keep the third loaf covered with a damp to wet paper towel while the others are baking.  This helps keep the third loaf moist while it’s waiting.

This recipe is extremely variable and can yield different results from one batch to the next on the very same day in spite of using the exact same ingredients and handling it exactly the same way.  You may need to use more water and honey in the winter because of the low humidity.  Older ingredients can also require the use of more water and honey.

When I asked his advice, a communion bread baker once told me that extra honey makes the bread better.  Every time I’ve tried it, it has worked!

The most important hint: the faster you mix this up and throw it together, the better it comes out, probably because it has less time to dry out.  But we have found that the less you fool with it, the better.  Remember—the children of Israel were in a hurry to get out of town fast!

Due to potential allergies of members or visitors, please be careful to avoid using any ingredients or plastic wraps that may have been contaminated with peanuts.   For the same reason, do not use peanut oil in this recipe.