Fresh Bread

1st Sunday after Christmas Day

Lectionary Texts:  1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26;  Psalm 148;  Colossians 3:12-17;  Luke 2:41-52

Bread Words

(Before talking about the Communion bread for this Sunday's service, I want to make it very clear that my purpose in writing Bread Words is simply to talk about  BREAD-making.  It is not my intention to exegete the texts.  [On this particular Sunday, I am especially grateful that I do not have to write a sermon integrating the above selections.]  In preparation for making the Communion bread, I read the Lectionary texts and usually an idea for a shape comes to mind.  It's not a logical process.  During Advent, I have felt an obligation to stay closely hitched to the Lectionary texts;  but from now on, I'm kicking over the traces and going wherever the spirit moves me.)

The images that inspired the bread shape were representations of God's inter-related Universe.  "Praise God, sun and moon; praise God, all you shining stars!  Praise God, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!...Praise God from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and frost, stormy wind fulfilling God's command!  Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars!  Wild animals and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds!  Sovereigns of the earth and all peoples, royalty and all rulers of the earth!  Young men and women alike, old and young together!"  (Psalm 148:3-4, 7-12)  In the selection from Paul's Letter to the Colossians, there is a description of how we might all get along:  "As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.  Bear with one another and , if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also  must forgive.  Above all , clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony."  (Colossians 3:12-14)  But from the narrative in the Luke passage, it is evident that even the parents of the Son of God had to cope with miscommunication and misunderstandings about "authority."

The bread pictured below is an "assemblage" of shapes cut out of the bread dough with cookie cutters.  No matter what kind of cookie cutters are used, the bread will turn out fine as long as the shaped pieces are placed in close proximity to each other.  This bread has a single quarter moon shape and several stars placed close together as the base for the bread.  Arranged over the moon and stars are a butterfly, a fish, a rabbit, and several (gingerbread man-style) humans.  Making a small bread such as this one is will allow the bread to hold together while it is held up during the ritual of Communion.  The recipe is a simple Whole Wheat Bread.  Because it has a small amount of yeast compared to the amount of flour used, and because it is made with whole wheat flour, the bread will maintain the cookie-cutter shapes.  This is the recipe:

3 cups unbleached flour

1 3/4 cups warm water

2 teaspoons dry yeast

1/3 cup honey

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

2-2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

In a large mixing bowl, pour the warm water and sprinkle the dry yeast over the surface to dissolve.  Add 2 cups of unbleached flour and mix for about 2 minutes.  Add the honey, oil, salt, and another cup of unbleached flour.  Mix in enough whole wheat flour to make a very stiff dough, and then turn the dough out on a floured surface to knead for about 8 minutes.  (While I was kneading the bread, I was thinking about a Christmas letter from some friends who live in Pebble Beach.  They volunteer at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and have found signs of hope in the ways that visitors become aware of the ways that even land-locked humans are dependent upon the oceans and the creatures therein.) Try to scrape the mixing bowl as clean as possible and then grease it generously with olive oil.  Place the dough in the bowl and invert it so that all surfaces will be coated with oil.  Let the dough rise in a warm place for about an hour.

Punch the dough dough and then pat it out on a floured surface to a 3/4-inch thickness.  Use thick cookie cutters to make the desired shapes.  (I "jiggled" the cookie cutters when cutting the dough to make certain that the dough was cut all the way through.)  Arrange the shapes on a well-greased baking sheet and let them rise for another hour.  Bake at 375-degrees.  Let the bread sit on the baking sheet for about five minutes before removing to a cooling rack.  It's pretty amazing how all of the separate shapes hang together as a single loaf.  YES! 

    

 

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve

Bread Words

A service of Lessons and Carols on Christmas Eve has become a tradition at United University Church.  This year's service will borrow heavily from the traditional Moravian Love Feast liturgy.  There is a good introduction to the Love Feast at this Web site: www.aldersgate.org/love_feast.htm

The Moravian Love Feast is not the same as Holy Communion.  It has been described as an "agape meal," shared as a foretaste of the heavenly banquet.  According to the tradition, sweetly spiced dinner rolls the size of hamburger buns are served from baskets passed up and down the pews.  The bread is accompanied by cups of coffee which are passed one at a time down the pews.  There is a recipe for Moravian Lovefeast Buns at this Web site:  www.easthillsmc.org/LovefeastBuns.html

The bread to be served at the UUC Love Feast will depart from the traditional recipe but not from its purpose.  To maintain the continuity of the bread as Advent wreath, a circular "coffee cake" will be shaped from a basic recipe for Cinnamon Rolls:

1/2 cup butter

2 cups milk, heated

4 teaspoons dry yeast

1/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

5-6 cups unbleached flour

********

2 Tablespoons softened butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pour 1 cup warm milk into a large mixing bowl and let it cool sufficiently so the yeast may be sprinkled over it to dissolve.

To the remaining cup of warm milk, add the butter and let it melt some.  While this mixture is cooling, add the sugar and 2 cups of flour to the yeast mixture; stir for about 2 minutes.  Let the mixtures stand for about 10 minutes and then combine the mixtures, adding the salt and some of the flour. 

Continue to mix in more flour.  When the dough is stiff and not easily stirred, turn it out onto a floured surface, scraping the bowl as clean as possible.  Knead the dough for about 8 minutes.  (This is the best part of the bread-making process.  On this Christmas Eve, which will be just three days after the Winter Solstice, I pray that the celebration of the birth of Jesus will help to bring more light to the dark and frightened places in human hearts. It is my hope that the Love Feast will be a sign that all who gather at the table--everytime and everywhere--are truly brothers and sisters in Christ.)

Grease the bowl and return the dough to the bowl, inverting once to grease every surface.  Let the dough rise for about one hour in a warm place.

After the dough has risen, punch it down and then roll the dough into a rectangle about 10 inches x 22 inches x 1/2 inch thick.  Spread with 2 Tablespoons of softened butter and sprinkle with 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.  (I have in the past succumbed to the temptation of using lots more butter and sugar at this point; but when the bread is baked in the wreath shape, the excess has melted onto the baking sheet and burned.  Resist the temptation!)  Roll the dough from the long edge and then loosely drape the roll around a greased ceramic cup on a well-greased baking sheet.  Use kitchen shears to trim the ends of the roll at an angle so they meet to form a circle. 

Again, use the kitchen shears to clip the roll into "petals" about 1-inch wide at the outer edge. Clip close to the inner edge, leaving only about 1/2-inch of dough.  (Looking at the pictures which follow the text will clarify the explanation.)  Then flip each "petal" 90-degrees, revealing the coiled surface of the dough.  After the dough is arranged to your satisfaction, let the shaped dough rise for about 45 minutes.  Bake at 375-degrees for  about 45 minutes.  (Even if used sparingly, the butter and sugar will melt so take care not to scorch or burn the bread.)  Let the bread sit for 5 minutes before removing from the pan to a cooling rack.

During the Christmas Eve service, the bread will be used as the Advent wreath for the lighting of the four Advent candles and the white Christ candle in the middle of the wreath.  During the Love Feast, the "petals" of the coffee cake will be separated and served in much the same manner as the traditional Moravian buns, but with napkins required! And then we'll pass the coffee....YUM!   

Copyright United University Church, 2006

4th Sunday in Advent

The Community Feasts In Love: Liturgy and Bread Words for Holy Communion

INVITATION TO THE TABLE

Beloved friends,Beloved friends, we gather at this table to enjoy the earthy flavor of bread and the fruity tartness of juice. But we come for far more than this. We gather to let the love of God flow in and through us – forming us into community – impassioning us for service.

The children of God who gather around this table form an odd group. They come from many different lands. They speak many different languages. They live many different lifestyles. Their skins are colored with many beautiful shades of brown and pink. Where else would this strange assortment of women and men come together if not at Christ’s table?

At United University Church, we believe that this table must be open to all who come. It does not matter who you are. It does not matter why you are here. It only matters that you are here. Christ invites you to this table – to eat this bread and to drink this juice – to form one community bound together by the love of God in Christ.

We come to Christ’s table to eat, to drink, and to love.

Knowing that each of us is a welcome guest at this table, let us now welcome each another. Let us show each other signs of Christian love and peace.

PASSING THE PEACE OF CHRIST

Worshippers greet each other with the peace of Christ.

PRAYER OF GREAT THANKSGIVING

May the Spirit of God be with you!

And also with you!

Let us lift up our hearts.

We lift our hearts to God.

Let us give thanks to the one who brings us love.

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Amazing God, we gather on the eve of Christmas to remember that you have fashioned our universe with love. In the midst of darkness, you have shined light. In the chaos of emptiness you have shaped a world. Into the silence of death you have breathed vitality and life. In the heart of conflict you have opened the ways of peace. Against the backdrop of despair you have set signs of hope.

We remember the ancient stories of Mary and Joseph, of Elizabeth and Zechariah, of shepherds and angels. We hear them again with ears attuned to the melodies of wonder, and we realize that these are not pretty stories created merely for warming our hearts in the frigid days of winter. They are stories filled with truth and with power. They inspire us to faithful witness and courageous acts on behalf or your people.

May we, like Mary and Elizabeth, say “Yes!” to your life-giving invitation. May we join them in the birthing of your kin-dom.

May we, like Joseph and Zechariah, do our part to affirm your call in the lives of others. May we imitate them in supporting and caring for those who take risks on behalf of your kin-dom.

May we, like the angels and shepherds, perceive the great things that you are doing in the unlikeliest of places. May we kneel with them in awe at the signs of your salvation.

May we join with all of these, your faithful ones, and with all of your creation in singing aloud your praises:

Singing our Praises

  Angels We Have Heard on High (Refrain)

    Words & Music: Traditional French Carol

    Published as # 23 in The Presbyterian Hymnal

Life-giving God, we thank you for sending Jesus into the heart of our despair. He was not born to a powerful family with wealth and prestige, but to a poor woman living on the margins of society. Ostracized and oppressed, beaten down and shamed, he knew the depths of human suffering. Still, he found strength in you to heal disease, to forgive sins, to teach the truth, to lead in your way, and to love intimately.

We gather at this table, recalling that the child to be born to Mary would be betrayed, arrested, tortured and executed by those who could not abide the message of your kin-dom. Our joy at his birth is tempered by our knowledge of his inevitable fate. And yet, we trust that the power of your love transcends his death. His resurrection, like his birth, renews the promise of our salvation.

That is why we gather at this table on the eve of Christmas. We recall the transforming love that Jesus showed on the night before his death. We remember that he took the Passover bread of freedom, broke it, and shared it with his friends, saying:

Take this bread and eat it.  This is my body, which is given for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.

We remember that he took the Passover cup of hope, blessed it, and passed it to his friends, saying:

Drink from this, all of you.  This is my blood of the new covenant poured out for you and many for the forgiveness of sin.  Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.

In the midst of death, we remember your promise of life. In the midst of oppression, we affirm your promise of freedom. In the midst of warfare, we proclaim your promise of peace. In the midst of evil, we trust your promise of justice. With Mary, let us keep faith. With the shepherds, let us feel wonder. With the angels, let us announce your salvation. With the poor of every time and place, let us build your kin-dom of love.

So, nourish and strengthen us in this meal. Transform us by the power of your Holy Spirit, that we may be faithful witnesses to your truth and love.

Pour out your Spirit upon us.  As we feast upon this bread and drink from this cup, make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in love for all the world.  Amen.

Beloved, these are the gifts of God given to us as sure and certain signs of the love of God. Come now – whoever you are – be part of this family, sit at this table, share in this feast. Love God! Love one another!

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

As the people come forward to eat the bread and drink from the cup, they are invited to bring pieces of paper on which they have written their prayer concerns and praises and to place them into a basket located on the table.  The people are invited to read the joys and concerns written by others and to respond to them silently or aloud by praying either “Thanks be to you, O God,” or “Hear our prayer, O God.”

SINGING DURING COMMUNION 

  Like a Child

    Words & Music: Daniel Charles Damon

    Published as # 2092 in The Faith We Sing

UNISON PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

We have tasted the bread of freedom. We have drunk from the cup of hope. We have known the love of God in the love of family and friends. As we depart, fill us O God, with the faith of Mary, the constancy of Joseph, the joy of the angels, and the wonder of the shepherds. May we go forth to be faithful witnesses of your love, now and forever. Amen.

4th Sunday in Advent

BREAD WORDS

It is a time of miracles!  The angel Gabriel has appeared to a young girl in rural Nazareth to announce to her that she would be giving birth to the Son of God.  As a confirmation that "with God nothing shall be impossible," (Luke 1:37) the angel reveals to Mary that her elderly cousin, Elizabeth, has also conceived a son.

"In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.  When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb.  And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.  And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?  For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy.  And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.' "  (Luke 1:39-45)

The lectionary texts for the 4th Sunday of in Advent proclaim that the words of the prophets are to be fulfilled.  though the priests in the temple in Jerusalem had memorized the teachings of the prophet, it is unlikely that they would recognize the new world order Mary passionately describes to Elizabeth:

"My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.  Surely, from no on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.  His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.  He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.  He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and he has lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich empty away.  He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and his descendants forever."

This is the GOOD NEWS!

In the Advent wreath on the 4th Sunday, the three dark blue and the one pink candle will have been lit.  The Christ candle remains unlit, awaiting the birth of Mary's son who is to be called Jesus.  The circular shape of the Advent wreath is said to signify eternal life.  In this time of the Winter Solstice, we recognize that the wreaths which adorn our altars are vestiges of pre-Christian Germanic mid-winter rituals from Eastern Europe.  In the cold darkness of the long winter nights, branches of evergreens were arranged into huge circles, maybe to symbolize the cycles of living and dying or the cycles of the seasons.  Then the evergreens were set ablaze, the firelight beckoning the sun's light to return to warm the Earth.

The wreath for the 4th Sunday will be made by braiding three ropes of dough into a circular shape.  The three ropes could represent the Holy Trinity or any other trinity that has significance: faith, hope, and love........Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer.........The recipe for the wreath is a simple Sweet Dough.  Recalling my dad's childhood memories of finding oranges in his stocking on Christmas mornings on the Nebraska panhandle, the bread is flavored with orange peel and ground nutmeg.  (Look at the pictures before reading the descriptions of how to shape the bread.  It's much easier to do it than to describe how it's done.)

1/2 cup butter

2 cups milk, heated

4 teaspoons dry yeast

1/3 cup sugar1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Zest of one orange

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

5-6 cups unbleached flour

Pour 1 cup warm milk into a large mixing bowl and let it cool sufficiently so the yeast may be sprinkled over it to dissolve.

To the remaining cup of warm milk, add the butter and let it melt some.  While this mixture is cooling, add the sugar and 2 cups flour to the yeast mixture; stir for about 2 minutes.  Let the mixtures stand for about 10 minutes and then combine them, adding the salt, orange zest, and nutmeg with more of the flour.

When the dough is stiff and not easily stirred, turn it out onto a floured surface, scraping the bowl as clean as possible.  Knead the dough for about 8 minutes.  (It's so satisfying to listen to Christmas carols and to sing the words while kneading the soft dough in rhythm with the music.)

Grease the bowl and return the dough to the bowl, inverting it once to grease the entire surface.  Let the dough rise for about one hour in a warm place.

After the dough has risen, punch it down and divide it into 4 pieces--3 for the braided wreath and one for a stylized bow.  Roll each piece into a 24-inch rope.  Bundle 3 of the ropes and place on a well-greased baking sheet.  Using a greased ceramic cup for the center opening, begin braiding the 3 ropes from the center of the bundle and braid half-way around the cup.  Braid the other half of the 3-strand bundle around the other side of the cup and join with the other end of the braided dough.  With 2/3 of the 4th rope, make a bow shape to place on the wreath and use the remaining short piece to secure the bow.  (From the pictures, you will see that the resulting "bow" looks more like a butterfly.)

Let the shaped dough rise for about 45 minutes and then bake at 375-degrees for about 45 minutes, or until golden brown.  After removing it from the oven, let the bread sit for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

 

Copyright United University Church, 2006

3rd Sunday in Advent

The Community Feasts With Joy: Liturgy and Bread Words for Holy Communion

INVITATION TO THE TABLE

Beloved friends, the bread has been baked; the cup has been poured; the table has been set. The community gathers to join heart to heart and to feast together at this banquet of love and joy.

At United University Church, we believe that Christ’s table is always open to all who come. It does not matter whether you come from the right family, travel in the right circles, live on the right side of the tracks. It does not matter whether your status is high or low, whether your bank account is large or small, or whether you sleep beneath vaulted ceilings or beneath the vault of heaven. It does not matter whether you run with ease, walk with a cane or travel in a wheelchair. It does not matter whether you speak English, Spanish, Chinese, French, Korean, or Gujarati. It does not matter what shade of brown your skin is colored. It only matters that you are here. And because you are here, Christ invites you to join heart to heart around this table. This is the feast of the kin-dom of God.

We come to this table as children of God.  We are not here because of who we are or what we have done.  We do not earn a place at this table through our worthiness; neither are we denied a place because of our unworthiness.  We come because have been invited by Christ.  We come to join heart to heart in love.  We come to be made whole in the family of God’s people.

PRAYER OF GREAT THANKSGIVING

May the Spirit of God be with you!

And also with you!

Let us lift up our hearts.

We lift our hearts to God.

Let us give thanks to the one who brings us joy.

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Ruler of the world, they tell us that you are coming in wrath to purge the evil and refine the good. They tell us that you are coming as a consuming fire to destroy all that is sinful. They tell us that you are coming to purify the earth from all that defiles.

Judge of the world, we sometimes stand in terror at the prospect of your arrival. We are like snakes that scatter in horror at the sound of your coming, for we know that we cannot withstand your anger. It is a fearful thing, we have been told, to fall into the hands of the living God. So, we desperately wonder where we can we flee to hide ourselves from your fury.

Lover of the world, we know that we are your people, created in your image. Though we have defiled that image with our selfishness, fear and hatred, we hear you calling to us in mercy, offering the promise of forgiveness and restoration. You invite us to repentance and show us the way of generosity and faith. You offer us the cleansing power of love. It is your love that overcomes our terror. It is your promise of redemption that draws us close. It is your offer of transformation that brings us hope for the birth of joy.

This is why we join the whole creation in singing your praises:

Singing the Sanctus

  Holy, Holy, Holy Lord

    Words: Traditional; Music: Iona Community (Scotland)

    Published as # 2256 in The Faith We Sing

Saving God, we thank you for your living presence among us. We thank you too for the privilege of joining together in this community to worship you and to grow in love for one another.

We thank you for Jesus whose coming was foretold by the Baptist. We remember John’s words to the crowds that had gathered around him for baptism:

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. That one will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

When Jesus came in fulfillment of John’s words, he forged a new community from the most unlikely of people. He healed their diseases, forgave their sins, taught them the truth, entrusted them with a mission, loved them intimately, and instructed them in your way.

There were those who rejected his message and who plotted against him. Threatened by his proclamation of your kin-dom, they made plans to arrest, torture and kill him. How could they know that his message would survive the cross to which they nailed him? How could they know that the power of resurrection was already at work? How could they know that his death would unleash a torrent of life? Their brutality would not stop the forward progress of your justice. Their act of murder would not prevent your saving love from its work of transforming your world.

That is why we gather today at this table to recall Jesus’ love and faithfulness toward your people. On the night when he was betrayed to death he gathered with his friends to celebrate the Passover meal, and to re-enact the story of his people’s liberation from slavery. He gave that ancient ritual new words and new meaning when he took the bread of freedom, broke it, passed it to his friends, and said:

Take this bread and eat it.  This is my body, which is given for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.

So too, the cup of hope, when Jesus blessed it in traditional fashion and passed it to his friends, he said:

Drink from this, all of you.  This is my blood of the new covenant poured out for you and many for the forgiveness of sin.  Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.

We gather today at this table, remembering that you answered the brutality of crucifixion with resurrection. By trusting you, Jesus gave us an example of faithful love. By going with you to the cross, he showed us the way to real life. May we, therefore, follow his example, and by our own acts of faithfulness, bring this news of great joy to a world tormented by violence, fear and death.

Nourish us now and strengthen us through this sacramental meal. Transform and redeem us by the power of your Holy Spirit. Help us to stand strong as joyful witnesses of your love and truth.

Pour out your Spirit upon us.  As we feast upon this bread and drink from this cup, make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in love for all the world.  Amen.

Beloved, these are the gifts of God given to bring joy to all of God’s people. Come now – whoever you are – be part of this family, sit at this table, share in this feast, celebrate this joy.

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

As the people come forward to eat the bread and drink from the cup, they are invited to bring pieces of paper on which they have written their prayer concerns and praises and to place them into a basket located on the table.  The people are invited to read the joys and concerns written by others and to respond to them silently or aloud by praying either “Thanks be to you, O God,” or “Hear our prayer, O God.”

SINGING DURING COMMUNION

  O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Stanzas 1, 3, 5)

    Words: 12th Century Latin; Music: 15th Century French

    Translation: John Mason Neale & William Sloan Coffin

    Published as # 211 in The United Methodist Hymnal

UNISON PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

We have felt true joy at your table, O God!  In the company of family and friends, we have eaten the bread and drunk from the cup.  Now, may the taste of these common foods linger on our tongues.  May the warmth of this companionship fill us with lasting joy.  Though we leave this place to go into an uncertain world, may we remember that we are home to each other in you.  And in that memory, may we always be faithful witnesses of your love. Amen.

4th Sunday in Advent

BREAD WORDS

The strong message of the Lectionary texts for the 3rd Sunday in Advent is that God is surely coming!  The way is being prepared by John's "proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins."  In this week's passage from Luke, John has chided the throngs who have come to be baptized, telling them that their geneology is insufficient to save them from the consequences of their past behaviors.  "You brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Bear fruits worthy of repentance."  (Luke 3:7b-8a)  "And (so) the crowds asked (John), 'What then should we do?'  In reply he said to them, 'Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.'...As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah."  (Luke 3:10-11, 15)  John assured them that one more powerful than he would be made known to them.

The visual images that emerged from the four Lectionary texts are "hearts."  And the heart image is not solitary and isolated.  The passages refer to hearts in the plural, as in the above text.  The sharing of clothing with one who has none and the sharing of food with those who are hungry are gestures of the heart.  Relationship is created.  We feel the comfort of being at home. 

This is the prophetic vision:  "And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth.  At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you."  (Zephaniah 3:19b-20a) 

In the passage from Philippians are more words of assurance of life lived in heart-relationship with God:  "Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Phillipians 4:6-7)

The recipe for the Communion bread for this 3rd Sunday in Advent is a sweet and simple one, flavored with cardamom:

1/2 cup butter

2 cups milk

4 teaspoons dry yeast

1/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons ground cardamom

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

5-6 cups unbleached flour

(The instructions for making the bread may seem intimidating by their very length.  Just remember that it takes many more words to describe what a single photo will clearly show.  Pictures of the shaping of the bread follow the text.)

Pour 1 cup warm milk into a large mixing bowl and let it cool sufficiently so the yeast may be sprinkled over it to dissolve.  To the remaining cup of warm milk, add the butter and let it melt some.  While this mixture is  cooling, add the sugar, cardamom, and 2 cups of flour to the yeast mixture;  stir for about 2 minutes.  Allow both mixtures to stand for about 10 minutes, and then combine them, adding the salt and more of the flour.

When the dough is too stiff to stir easily, turn the dough out onto a floured surface, scraping the bowl as clean as possible.  Knead the dough for about 8 minutes.  (During this time, I try to empty my mind of any thought but of the soft, resilient, fragrant dough.  Then I imagine how wonderful it would be to share this lovely bread--and the message of Love it bears--with EVERYONE!) 

Grease the bowl and return the dough to the bowl, inverting the dough one time to grease all surfaces.  Let the dough rise in a warm place for about one hour.

After the dough has risen, punch it down and divide it into 5 pieces.  Roll each piece into a rope about 20-inches long.  They will resemble "a brood of (5) vipers."  On a large, greased baking sheet, arrange the five "snakes" in a ring of over-lapping "U" shapes.  Each of the "U" 's could be coiled into itself to make 5 individual heart shapes;  but to reflect the willingness of hearts to be united, the "arms" of each "U" can be linked to the "U" 's on either side of it.  (Please refer to the photos below.)  The ends of the linked "arms" of each individual "U" can then be coiled toward the base of the "U" which can be shaped to a point, thus creating a ring of 5 linked hearts.  (Because this bread is being used as an Advent wreath, the bottom "points" of the 5 hearts are truncated to accommodate the round space for the Christ candle.  A greased ceramic cup is inverted in the center so that the dough can rise and bake around it.) 

Let the shaped dough rise for 45-60 minutes and then bake at 375-degrees for about 45 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown.  Allow the bread set for 5 minutes and then remove to a rack to cool.  The room will be filled with the aroma of the fresh bread.  The fragrance of the cardamom may be unfamiliar but it's compelling, rather like the allure of the extraordinary events of which John the Baptist has spoken.

Copyright United University Church, 2006

2nd Sunday in Advent

The Community Feasts Along the Way: Liturgy and Bread Words for Holy Communion

INVITATION TO THE TABLE

Beloved friends, the bread has been baked; the cup has been poured; the table has been set.

Look around!  See the community that has gathered for this meal!  Each one is a child of God; each one of inestimable worth; each one an irreplaceable part of God’s family.

At United University Church, we believe that Christ’s table must always be open to all who come.  It does not matter who you are.  It does not matter why you are here.  It only matters that you are here.  Old or young, rich or poor, clean or dirty, sinner or saint – Christ invites you to this table.  Believer or skeptic, educated or uneducated, healthy or unhealthy – Christ invites you to this table.  Straight, gay, bisexual or transgender – Christ invites you to this table.  Whether your ancestors come from Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, North America, South America, or an island in one of the world’s oceans, whatever your race, whatever your culture, whatever your religion – Christ invites you to this table. 

Let us come then from all the points of the compass, from every culture and language, from every society and class, from every station and style of life.  This bread is ours to eat.  This cup is ours to drink. Let us rest for a moment on the way that is our life and nourish ourselves in this company – this family of God’s people.

PRAYER OF GREAT THANKSGIVING

May the Spirit of God be with you!

      And also with you!

Let us lift up our hearts.

      We lift our hearts to God.

Let us give thanks to the one who shows us the way.

      It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Creator of the world, you form the cosmos from chaos.  In the shapeless void, you fashion atoms and gather them into molecules.  You power photons and ignite the stars. You arrange the galaxies and scatter them across the vastness of space.  We stand in awe at your power.

Hope of the world, you conceive life.  You form it through your imagination, infuse it with your breath, and shape it into your image.  Grasses and trees, plankton and whales, parakeets and vultures, tree frogs and rattlesnakes, elephants and earthworms, viruses and humans – all come into existence at your word.  We stand in awe at your boundless creativity.

Joy of the world, you join yourself to humanity in a covenant of love.  Offering abundance and security, justice and peace, you invite your people to live in community with all creatures.  You call them to practice faith and generosity – to live gently and responsibly on the earth you formed with your own hands.  You promise to provide for their needs and to guide them in the ways of life.  We stand in awe at your faithfulness.

Savior of the world, in the midst of tumult and trouble, you redeem your people.  You show mercy to those crying out for mercy.  You offer hope to those who believe that hope is an impossible luxury.  You pronounce judgment on those deserving of judgment. You give freedom to those for whom freedom is a distant dream.  We stand in awe at your holiness.

Light of the world, you break upon us like dawn from on high, illuminating all who reside in gloom, encouraging all who dwell under the shadow of death, guiding our feet into the way of wholeness and peace.  We stand in awe at your love.

This is why we join the whole creation in singing your praises:

Singing the Sanctus 

  Holy, Holy, Holy Lord

    Words: Traditional; Music: Iona Community (Scotland)

    Published as # 2256 in The Faith We Sing

Redeeming God, we thank you for the lives with which you have gifted us, and for the relationships into which you have called us. 

We thank you for Jesus, who did not live in the world as a private and solitary saint.  He did not pray for the world from the safety of a monk’s cell, but gathered imperfect human beings into a saving community.  He healed their diseases, forgave their sins, taught them the truth, trusted them with his message and mission, loved them intimately, and apprenticed them in your way.

Like Jesus’ first followers, we are sometimes confused and sometimes frightened.  But, we know that Jesus has shown us the way of life.  We understand that the way of your kin-dom is risky – that it may lead to rejection and ridicule, abuse and imprisonment, torture and sometimes even death.  But, we also know that your love is stronger than the suffering and violence that may come our way.  We trust you to raise us to new life, just as you raised Jesus. 

We gather at this table to recall Jesus’ faithfulness on the last night before his death.  We remember that he gathered with his friends to celebrate the Passover meal and to re-enact the ancient story of his people’s liberation from slavery.  We remember how, during that meal, he took the bread of freedom, broke it, passed it to his friends, and said:

Take this bread and eat it.  This is my body, which is given for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.

We remember how, at the end of the meal, he took the cup of hope, blessed it in traditional fashion, passed it to his friends, and said:

Drink from this, all of you.  This is my blood of the new covenant poured out for you and many for the forgiveness of sin.  Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.

Most of all, we remember Jesus’ example of faithful love – how he followed you through the pain and humiliation of public execution, trusting in your power and willingness to save him.  Though he died an excruciating death at the hands of brutal men, you raised him to new life. 

We receive your promise of life through Jesus’ death and resurrection.  That is why we ask you now for the strength and courage we need to follow him.  May we be like him in trusting you, so that we may faithfully follow your way and bring your good news to a suffering and dying world.

Nourish and strengthen us in this meal.  Transform and redeem us by the power of your Holy Spirit.  Help us to stand strong as powerful witnesses of your way.

Pour out your Spirit upon us.  As we feast upon this bread and drink from this cup, make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in love for all the world.  Amen.

Beloved, these are the gifts of God given to show the way of life to all of God’s people.  Come now – whoever you are – be part of this family, sit at this table, share in this feast.   Nourish yourself for the way!

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

As the people come forward to eat the bread and drink from the cup, they are invited to bring pieces of paper on which they have written their prayer concerns and praises and to place them into a basket located on the table.  The people are invited to read the joys and concerns written by others and to respond to them silently or aloud by praying either “Thanks be to you, O God,” or “Hear our prayer, O God.”

SINGING DURING COMMUNION 

  O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Stanzas 1, 2, 4)

    Words: 12th Century Latin; Music: 15th Century French

    Translation: John Mason Neale & William Sloan Coffin

    Published as # 211 in The United Methodist Hymnal

UNISON PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

We have joined at this table with family and friends!  We have tasted the bread and juice to nourish ourselves on the way.  Now, as we prepare to depart, let us remember this time and draw strength from it.  Though the world can be a frightening place, help us to follow you faithfully.  Strengthen and encourage our hearts that we may go forth as faithful witnesses of your love, now and forever.  Amen.

BREAD WORDS

There is a kind of "cringe factor" when reading the familiar names of the Roman rulers referred to in the following Lectionary passage from Luke.  It is not difficult to imagine the political "wilderness" from which John might have sought spiritual refuge in the desert:

"In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias rular of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, in the wilderness.  He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, 'The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:  "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.  Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God." ' " (Luke 3:1-6)

Filled with the fervor of divine inspiration, John is compelled to do his part to "prepare the way of the Lord."  The Communion bread for the Second Sunday of Advent looks like the symbol for the four directions of a compass, reminding us of John's having gone "into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins."  The recipe for the bread is a multi-grain dough, sweetened with honey and enriched with a variety of seeds, alluding to the foraging and gleaning which must have been required for John's survival in the desert.  Locusts are optional; I left them out.  (The dough for the recipe is sufficient for 2 conventional loaves, but it makes the one Communion bread as is shown in the following pictures.)

3/4 cup warm water

4 teaspoons active dry yeast

3 1/2-4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cup milk

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup rolled oats (or multi-grain cereal)

1/4 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup lightly toasted seeds (flax, sesame, and/or sunflower)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water.  Stir in the honey and about 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, and beat for about 100 strokes.  Set the yeast mixture aside while combining the warm milk, olive oil, rolled oats (or multi-grain cereal), cornmeal, seeds, salt, and whole wheat flour in a large mixing bowl.  Add the yeast mixture to the other ingredients.  Stir in enough of the all-purpose flour to make a stiff dough and then scrape the dough out of the bowl onto a well-floured surface.  Knead the dough for about 8 minutes.  (Knead in the rememberance that December 8 is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and that December 12 is the Feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe;  imagine Roman Catholic and Protestant brothers and sisters celebrating together around the Communion table.)  Place the dough in a well-oiled bowl; invert the dough so that all surfaces are oily; and let the dough rise in a warm place for about one hour. 

Punch the dough down, squeezing out some of the air bubbles in the dough.  To shape the bread, roll out a long rope of dough, at least 4 feet in length.  Think of that straight rope as the way we might wish our lives could be lived, a linear existence from Point A to Point B. Of course, the reality is that there are unexpected twists and loopy times that catch us off-guard.  Sometimes we are plunged into valleys of despair.  At other times we are required to scale steep slopes.  As the rope of dough is loosely coiled onto the prepared baking sheet, a symmetry and coherence can be recognized.  In a leap of faith, the two ends of the rope are joined. (I usually hide this joining underneath one loop of the bread.)  No beginning.  No end.  Life goes on and on.

(To accommodate the Christ candle in the center of the Advent wreath/Communion bread, a ceramic cup has been buttered and inverted in the center of the shaped bread.)  Let the shaped dough rise for about 45 minutes in a warm place.

Bake the bread at 375-degrees for about 45 minutes.  When the bread comes out of the oven, the "valleys" are filled, the "mountains and hills" made low, and the "rough" places are smooth.  The "compass" shape reminds us that we are not floundering in the wilderness.  We do have a sense of direction.  The way is being prepared.  God will come to us "and all flesh shall see the salvation of God."         

Copyright United University Church, 2006

1st Sunday of Advent

The Community Feasts at the Table of Hope: Liturgy and Bread Words for Holy Communion

Invitation to the Table

Beloved friends, welcome home!  Smell the earthy sweetness of this bread and the fruity tartness of this juice.  Let the aromas draw you to this table where Christ is host and all God’s people are family.

At United University Church, we believe that Christ’s table must always be open to all who come.  It does not matter whether you are here because your stomach is growling with hunger or because you find the aroma of fresh baked bread irresistible.  It does not matter whether you are clothed in a well-tailored suit or wear ripped jeans and a t-shirt.  It does not matter whether you live in a house or sleep on the streets.  It does not matter whether you are a citizen of this nation or someone who crossed the border without documentation.  It does not matter whether you are rich or poor, clean or dirty, healthy or sick, old or young.  It does not even matter whether you are a member of this church or of any church at all.  The only thing that matters is you are here.  And because you are here, you have a place at this table.  You are invited to eat this bread.  You are invited to drink from this cup.  This is your home.  We are your family.  This is the table of Christ – the hope of our world.

The Prayer of Great Thanksgiving

May the Spirit of God be with you!
       And also with you!
Let us lift up our hearts.
       We lift our hearts to God.
Let us give thanks to the one who brings us hope.
       It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Maker of the universe, creator of stars and planets, giver of signs and seasons, we look to you with wonder and awe.  In the midst of this cosmos of vast proportions, we feel so small and insignificant.  We are tossed about by forces we do not understand.  We are governed by powers beyond our control.

Though the world seems chaotic and dangerous, we turn to you with hope.  Confronted by earthquakes, tsunamis and floods, we trust in your faithfulness.  Threatened by famine, disease and mortality, we place our hope in your love.  Terrorized by violence, war and poverty, we wait for your justice.

Knowing that our weakness is surpassed by your strength, we look to that day when you redeem your people.  Then will your children know justice and freedom.  Then will they find security and joy.  Then will they practice righteousness and peace.  Salvation is coming to the earth.  We know it!  Love is making the way.
That is why we join with people in every corner of our globe to sing your praises:

Singing the Sanctus 

  Holy, Holy, Holy Lord

    Words: Traditional; Music: Iona Community (Scotland)

    Published as # 2256 in The Faith We Sing

We see your holiness in the beauty of nature.  We see it in the abundance by which you provide for your creatures.  We see it in communities practicing justice and peace.  We see it in compassionate care for the sick and the dying.  We see it in the loving embrace of outcasts and strangers.  Most of all, we see it in Jesus.

Jesus healed our diseases, expelled our demons, satisfied our hungers, taught us the truth, raised us to life, and invited us into the kin-dom of your people.  In the holiness of love, he lived as human among humans.  He was born into homelessness and exile, suffered poverty and oppression, experienced rejection from the religious leaders of his own people, submitted himself to torture at the hands of imperial soldiers, and suffered public execution on a cross.  But, violence could not stop him; the grave could not silence him.  The holy power of your love raised Jesus again to life and forged a new community of people in his name.

We gather at this table as a part of that community to tell the tale again and to commit ourselves to it anew.  We remember that Jesus gathered with his friends on the night before he died to celebrate the Passover meal and to re-enact the ancient story of his people’s liberation from slavery.  We remember how, during that meal, he took the bread of freedom, broke it, passed it to his friends, and said:

Take this bread and eat it.  This is my body, which is given for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.

We also remember how, at the end of the meal, he took the cup of hope, blessed it in traditional fashion, passed it to his friends, and said:

Drink from this, all of you.  This is my blood of the new covenant poured out for you and many for the forgiveness of sin.  Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.

But, we do more than remember, O God.  We also gather to restore our community for faithfulness in this time and this place.  We come home to the family table to smell and taste the bread, to share a common cup, to experience your love in the love of our sisters and brothers, and to dream of that banquet where all will be present, where all will be at peace, where all will have enough, and where all will rejoice together.  We ask you to nourish us in this meal so that we may always remain alert for the signs of your presence within and between us.  Transform and redeem us by the power of your Spirit, that we may live our lives in courageous faithfulness to you and so stand strong as powerful witnesses of your good news for all people.

Pour out your Spirit upon us.  As we feast upon this bread and drink from this cup, make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in love for all the world.  Amen.

Beloved, these are the gifts of God given in hope for all of God’s people.  Come now – whoever you are – be part of this family, sit at this table, share in this feast.   Come home!

Prayers of the People

As people come forward to eat the bread and drink from the cup, they are invited to bring pieces of paper on which they have written their prayer concerns and praises and to place them into a basket located on the communion table.  They are also invited to read the joys and concerns written by  others, responding to them silently or aloud by praying either “Thanks be to you, O God,” or “Hear our prayer, O God.”

SINGING DURING COMMUNION 

  O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

      Words: 12th Century Latin; Music: 15th Century French

      Translation: John Mason Neale & William Sloan Coffin

      Published as # 9 in The Presbyterian Hymnal

UNISON PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

We have come home!  We have tasted the bread and juice in the company of our brothers and sisters.  Now, as we prepare to depart, let us remember this time and draw strength from it.  Though the world is, at times, a frightening place, gives us eyes to see and ears to hear the signs of your coming.  Keep us alert that we may stand as faithful witnesses of your love, now and forever.  Amen.

BREAD WORDS

The theme which emerged from my reading of the Lectionary passages for the first Sunday in Advent was "keeping FAITH," believing in God's promise.  It was the Jeremiah passage that inspired the symbol for the shape of the Communion bread:  a Star of David.

"The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.  In those days and in that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David;  and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.  In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safely.  And this is the name by which it will be called:  'The Lord is our righteousness.' "  (Jeremiah 33:14-16)

The Star of David is a familiar symbol, a hexagram consisting of two interlaced, equilateral triangles.  I presumed that the symbol had been associated with the House of David for centuries, alluding to the Hebrew roots of our Christian faith, making it an appropriate shape for Communion bread.  Now that I have lived nearly six decades, it did not surprise me very much to discover that my presumption was erroneous.  Though the hexagram has been a popular symbol in many cultures from ancient times, the Star of David (also known as the "Magen David," the "Shield of David") has only been universally recognized as the sign of Judaism for the past 200 years.  Prior to modern times, the hexagram was most commonly used as an amulet to ward off evil spirits.

Though the Star of David did not have the significance originally imagined, I found out that anthropologists identify the downward-pointing triangle as a representation of female sexuality and male sexuality is represented by the upward-pointing triangle;  when the two triangular shapes are combined, the resulting hexagram is said to symbolize unity and harmony.  In alchemy, the two triangles in opposing positions symbolize fire and water;  when the triangles are overlaid, it represents the reconciliation of opposites.  This additional information only serves to enhance the power of the symbol, making it much richer than had been initially imagined.

Because it's still Autumn and the abundance of the harvest is everywhere apparent, the recipe for the Star of David is a fairly coarse, Multi-Grained Bread.  The recipe makes 2 loaves of bread and the whole, two-loaf recipe was used to make the bread shown below: 

(As I was once told before attempting to knit, don't read through the entire instructions before beginning.  It's too intimidating.  Assemble the required ingredients, and then proceed.)

3/4 cup warm water                                                         

4 teaspoons active dry yeast

3 1/2 - 4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups milk

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup rolled oats (or multi-grained cereal)

1/4 cup cornmeal

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water to dissolve the yeast.  In a large mixing bowl, combine the warm milk, olive oil, brown sugar, oatmeal, cornmeal, salt, and whole wheat flour.  Add the yeast mixture and one cup of all-purpose flour.  Beat the mixture for at least 100 strokes.  If you have the time, let the dough rest for about an hour, the proof.  If you don't have the time, add the all-purpose flour, one cup at a time, and mix.  When you aren't able to mix in the flour, measure the remaining flour onto the kneading surface, and scrape the dough out of the bowl.  Knead the dough, incorporating adequate amounts of flour (and whatever prayers are necessary) for about 8 minutes.  Oil or butter the bowl and place the dough in the bowl, reversing it at least once so the exposed surface will be covered with oil.  Let the dough rise for at least one hour.  (I usually put it in the unlit oven with the door closed.) 

To create the Star of David, punch the dough down and divide the dough into two equal portions.  Make two ropes of dough, about 30-inches long.  Loosely shape a triangle onto a greased baking sheet with the ends of the triangle meeting about 1/3 of the distance along any leg.  (For aesthetic reasons only, don't have the ends meet at any point of the triangle.)  Intertwine the second rope to create an inverted triangle.  Tuck the ends of each triangle under the leg of the opposite triangle.  (Remember that it's easier to look at the photos and do it than it is to describe how it's done.)  The dough is very forgiving and can be arranged (and re-arranged) until you are satisfied. 

Because I wanted for the points of the "star" to be evident, I made triangles of foil, greased them with butter, and stuffed them into each point.  Without the foil, the bread will still have six, soft points and they will fill in as the dough rises and is baked.  Either method "works."  It's all a matter of preference.

During the worship planning process for Advent at UUC, one member of the group suggested that the Communion breads be the basis for our Advent wreaths.  To be certain that the Star of David would accommodate a 3-inch candle in the center, a ceramic cup was greased with butter and inverted in the opening in the triangle.  The bread was allowed to rise for about one hour and then it was baked for 45 minutes at 375-degrees.  The following pictures give some idea of how the bread was made and how it could be used as an Advent wreath/Communion bread.

Copyright United University Church, 2006

Fresh bread. The tantalizing, yeasty aroma draws us in, conjuring images of home, even if homemade bread has not been part of our life experience.  Having freshly baked bread for Communion transforms a formal ritual into something familiar and available to humans.  By utilizing bread recipes from every culture, we are reminded of how the message of God's Love is shared around the globe.  Communion bread is inherently symbolic; but sometimes the symbolism can be enhanced when the bread dough is formed into meaningful shapes, incorporating the abstracted stories of our faith traditions.

At United University Church, fresh bread is a part of our Communion practice.  It is a dynamic practice we want to share with any who are interested.  Each week we will offer a Lectionary-based meditation and complementary ideas for bread making.  The process of creating fresh bread is AMAZING!  Think about it.  Try it.  Shape it.  Bake it.  Smell it.  See it.  Hear it break.  Touch it.  Taste it.  Take it in.  Share it.  Make room at the table for everyone.  Be nourished.  Be transformed.