April 1, 2010
Exodus 12, 1-8, 11-14 + Psalm 116 + 1 Corinthians 11 23-26 + John 13: 1-15
Anthropologists and students of human history can get all excited with discussions about “homo sapiens” over the question of when this species became “human”. In other words; at what point in time do humans made in the image and likeness of God appear in this vast space of creation? If you think out of the box of biblical fundamentalism, it’s a fascinating question.
The discussion might suggest that “human” behavior and our ability to identify homo sapiens as “human” began when the first one stood upright.
That is an interesting and thought provoking idea.
Another second might suggest that homo sapiens became human when it first made tools. The idea here is that something happened when the imagination sparked to life and there was a switch from using rocks and tree limbs to actually making tools by hand. It is an idea with some merit.
A third suggestion I’ve heard from some scientists is that homo sapiens distinguished itself from all other creatures when it first began to laugh. We do believe that no other species in creation experiences or exhibits humor and laughter. The proposal then follows that the sound of the first real laughter was the moment homo sapiens emerged.
Now I am leading you into this reflection because I have yet another proposal.
Mine has no scientific back ground and is not particularly biblical; but it is profoundly theological in the sense that it leads us to reflect upon and discover something about God that is revealed to us in human nature which is very much at the heart of what we are doing here tonight, what we recall, and why we do it.
I am beginning to think that homo sapiens becomes a human being when it first made bread. That is to says, when we first planted, harvested, ground wheat, baked, broke, and shared; in other words, when we learned or discovered the consequences of doing something and waiting for the results turning those consequences into something for another.
When creation arrives at that point, it is the day of human birth.
That is the day when we begin to participate in something divine.
It is the day when we begin to realize what it means to be made in the image of God. Tonight we must ponder very deeply what it means for God to be revealed in Bread, and we must come to realize that it certainly means that we are to do more with this Bread than Eat. Until we plant a seed, wait, harvest, grind, bake, break and share, we are not anywhere near becoming a Eucharistic Community.