21. Bread of Life
Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. Isaiah 55:1–2 As Hanan stood at the counter, mixing the flour and water into a dough, Emet sat and asked, “So, what can you tell me about this Bread without Yeast?” “What can I tell you about it?” Hanan said, surprised. Glancing back at his grandfather, he asked, “Weren’t you going to tell me about it?” Emet crossed his arms and smiled. “I thought we’d first start with what you know.” Hanan continued kneading as he thought for a moment. “Well, it’s in the top half of these two squares,” he said as he motioned with his head toward the top of the quadrant, “so we know it’s full of Truth.” “Yes, very good.” Then, nodding toward the right side of the counter, Hanan added, “And it’s on the right-hand side, so we know it’s also full of Grace.” “Well done,” Emet said as he stood up next to Hanan. “So, what kind of bread does this dough give rise to?” “Well, it’s made without Yeast, so it doesn’t really rise at all, Grandpa,” Hanan jested. “Isn’t that why we call it Unleavened Bread?” “Well said,” Emet replied, patting Hanan on the shoulder. “I thought maybe I could get you with my trick question.” Hanan paused his kneading to say, “But that makes me wonder, Grandpa. If there’s no Yeast, how does it grow and multiply?” “Ah, very simple.” Emet took over the kneading process while saying, “It takes a miracle.” “Simple?” Hanan asked as he brushed his hands off on his apron and tried to hide a muffled laugh. “There’s nothing simple about a miracle.” “Oh, really?” Emet paused his kneading. “Didn’t Jesus say that if you have faith as small as a mustard seed you can move mountains?” “Well, sure, but—” “—but nothing,” Emet stated as he flattened the dough, preparing it to be baked. “Unleavened Bread is a miracle. Plain and simple.” As he transferred the dough onto the bread peel, he looked Hanan in the eye and said, “Many like to think Unleavened Bread is produced by our Creeds and Kindness, but in our zeal, we tend to gravitate toward one or the other.” “What do you mean?” As he handed the peel with the unleavened dough to Hanan, he asked, “How do we get the Bread of Legalism?” Motioning with his eyes for Hanan to take the fresh dough to the oven, Emet answered the question himself. “We get it because the Yeast of the Pharisees deceives us into thinking that our Truth Creeds will give us Unleavened Bread.” As he folded his arms, he added, “But by the time we’ve baked our creeds to perfection, we quite often end up with the Bread of Legalism instead.” Hanan took a deep breath as he carried the dough to the oven and processed Emet’s words. Slipping the dough near the coals, he asked, “And the Bread of License?” Emet leaned back against the counter. “Oh, that comes from the Yeast of the Sadducees, which leads us to believe our Gracious Kindness will manufacture Unleavened Bread. But as we bake that sweet loaf into something everyone enjoys, we discover that we’re ingesting the permissive Bread of License.” Lingering by the oven, Hanan rubbed his cold hands near the opening. He looked at his grandfather thoughtfully and asked, “And how about the Bread of Lawlessness?” “Ah, yes. We get that one because the Yeast of Herod tricks us into believing that power, wealth, and influence will produce Unleavened Bread—but as we work at baking a better, stronger, more tolerant loaf than anyone else—” “—we wind up with the Bread of Lawlessness,” Hanan interrupted. With his back turned to the oven to enjoy its warmth, he asked, “I think I get all that, but what about Unleavened Bread?” Emet crossed his arms and replied, “Unleavened Bread needs a miracle—and thankfully, miracles are available for the asking.” At this, Hanan quoted the words of Jesus. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Emet smiled as he continued the quote. “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?” “Oh, wow!” Hanan recalled as he walked back to the counter. “Those are the same things you had in your basket that day—fish and bread!” Emet nodded as he continued, “If you—though you are evil—” “Hey!” Hanan said again, smirking. “Who are you calling evil?” Emet smiled, and pointed playfully at Hanan. “If you, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts . . . how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” Hanan laughed. “All right, I get it, Grandpa. God is the one who makes the Unleavened Bread grow and multiply, and He does so as we ask Him.” “Yes, Hanan,” Emet confirmed. “Creeds and Kindness are important, but they themselves don’t produce or preserve Unleavened Bread. The presence of Unleavened Bread produces and preserves them.” Hanan pursed his lips thoughtfully, then asked, “So, last night you mentioned that you prefer to call Unleavened Bread by a special name. What is it?” “Why don’t you tell me?” Emet proposed. “Me tell you?” Hanan objected. “How am I supposed to do that? You haven’t told me yet!” Emet put his hands on his knees to get a better view of the bread in the oven as he asked, “Well, what do you think would be a good name for it?” “Hmm. . . .” Hanan said thoughtfully. “Let’s see . . . the other breads are Legalism, License, and Lawlessness. So, I’m going to guess this is the Bread of . . . Life!” Emet stood, folded his arms, and smiled with one corner of his mouth. “And what makes you say that?” “Well, it starts with the letter ‘L,’” Hanan said with a sideways grin, “so, that was one clue.” Emet rolled his eyes. “And?” “And. . . .” Hanan crossed his arms like his grandpa. “The other clue is something Jesus once said.” “Go on,” Emet urged. Hanan looked toward the ceiling to jog his memory, then quoted Jesus. “I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever.” With a big smile, Emet clasped Hanan’s shoulder. “You know, son, you are so much more than you initially appear to be.” Hanan tilted his head in confusion. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Emet laughed. “Oh, nothing. It’s just something an old friend used to say.” Taking in a deep breath, he exhaled slowly. Emet did this whenever he felt a mix of pride, love, and satisfaction. Releasing his grip on Hanan’s shoulder, he whispered, “I meant to say I’m proud of you, and I’m so pleased to see how much Scripture you have in your dough.” Hanan looked down—not in shame, of course—but out of satisfaction and gratitude. “Thanks, Grandpa.” Looking up, he asked, “So—I’m right? Unleavened Bread is the Bread of Life?” “Of course!” Emet sat on one of the stools and breathed in deeply, taking in the fresh aroma of the baking bread filling the bakery. After exhaling slowly, he announced, “Now, you’re going to tell me how it tastes and smells.”
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