The Politics of Daily Bread

 "Give us this day our daily bread," says Jesus, when asked by the disciples to give 'em some guidance on prayer.

The prayer begins, of course, with a focus upon God, God's Holiness, and then this explosive conjunction of heaven and earth, "thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." This is not a petition, not an asking, nor hope nor dream, but a reality, a reality unfolding and emerging; it's happening, it will happen, it has happened, and it's going to to happen, inevitably, inexorably, without fail, though tried and tested, resisted and manipulated, by the powers and principalities of this age (Ephesians 6.12).

And then bread, of all things.

Not debts and forgiveness, nor the requests for guidance and safety, nor any other petition.

But bread.

Basic stuff.

The staff of life, the first and the foremost, the belly, and daily bread ... because bread is life: who grows the grain, who makes it, who has it, who gets it, who's denied it, and who have to settle for the crumbs ... bread is a world of social imbalance and control, as with the rich fool who builds bigger silos to store his harvest and squeeze the market for higher prices. Those with plenty use their means to manipulate the ebb and flow of commodities, and further enhance their wealth.

To ask for daily bread is to ask for the fare share, the living wage, what's right and just and decent, what's needed for a person to live, for a family to make it, and those with too much to go with a bit less so those with too little can enjoy a wee bit more (2 Corinthians 8.13ff).

The petition for bread is corporate, as is the whole of the prayer - it's not me, nor mine, but "us" - all of us, the whole of creation, my neighbor, the folks down street, and the children at the border. It's all of us, or none of us - that's political, that's explosive, that's a game-changer, when it comes to the markets and mechanisms of fair trade, the accumulation of wealth and power, and the needs of the many. "Thoughts and prayers" are not included (don't waste your breath!). It is bread, the loaves and crusts and all the rest, to grace a table, or with a few fish at a lawn party, to fill a belly, with leftovers aplenty (Matthew 13.14).

It's the first petition in our LORD's Prayer - because bread is the fundamental question of life, life together, life in the kingdom of God, life moving in concert with God's will ... as it is in heaven, where justice reigns powerfully and beautifully, the lights never go out, and doors are never shut (Revelation 21), sadness, sorrow, lies and deceit are gone, no one left behind, all creatures great and small, the whole of creation, you and me brother, you and me sister.

Give us this day our daily bread!