Celtic daily prayer

We now move from Celtic Morning to Evening Prayer that starts with giving voice to our  Expressions of faith with the words:-

Lord, You have always given

bread for the coming day;

and though I am poor,

today I believe.

Bread, the simple dietary element of humankind across the world and through the ages. From Mana in the wilderness to the feeding of the multitude who came to hear Jesus and on to the institution of the Lord’s Supper, recognised as the central remembering action of millions across the world.

The Maltese have a particular respect for the place of bread in their culture; in fact they consider bread as sacred. They say “If you find a piece of bread on the floor, you pick it up and place it on a window ledge or wall, You show respect.”

During 1942 they struggled greatly being the most severely bombed territory in the whole of Europe, to the extent they did not have enough flour to make bread. They knew what it was to be truly poor, yet they maintained their faith in the one to whom the prayed, give us this day our daily bread.

Martin Luther wrote in 1529: "What does daily bread mean? Everything that nourishes our body and meets its needs, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, yard, fields, cattle, money, possessions, a devout spouse, devout children, devout employees, devout and faithful rulers, good government, peace, health, discipline, honour, good friends, faithful neighbours and other things like these."

But what about believing the one who declared,“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6:35

The bread of life exists within the community of Jesus Christ. We, his people, are his bread. We are to be this bread for each other. The mystery of the Eucharist is of God being close to God's people, and of God's people being the body of Christ. We are baptised into Christ. Think in prayer this day of those close to us who need the nourishment and the comfort of the love of God and his care. Can we give it to them?

God of hope,

when your hungry people longed for the slave food of Egypt,

you opened the doors of heaven and rained down manna.

Feed us with the bread of life at your table,

that we may taste the freedom of eternal life

and lead lives worthy of our calling,

through Christ our head. Amen.