Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Matthew 6: 9-15
We pray to God for the food that sustains our lives from day to day. So we believe, and so we pray. We ask God for bread, yet how well we know there often is much more than a simple loaf on that table before us.
We often choose among dozens of different varieties of loaves. Some are sliced, and some are not. Some are long and slim, some are round and fat, and others are long, flat sheets. Some are filled with fruit, while others shimmer with frosting. Some we will eat plain. Some we eat as sandwiches, expanded with a variety of meats and other goodies. Some we will eat with peanut butter and jelly. Some we will eat with full meals, alongside a multiplicity of other foods.
No matter the day, the time of day, the place at the table, or the place where the table is set, the bread and all that accompanies it are gifts from God’s creation, made, raised, grown, or harvested by the hands of God’s people. So we give thanks for bread and for much more, as we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread….”
