I have had much to chew on over the past week or so as I've nibbled my
through the first half of Wolfgang Vondey's People
of Bread: rediscovering ecclesiology. Drawing upon Jewish and
Christian Scriptures, he sets forth a thought-model of Church rooted in the
biblical images of God's relationship with God's people as mediated through
bread. Most crusty in the first three chapters, has been the section dealing
with hospitality (Vondey 70-105). The moral character of God's
People, Israel in the case of Genesis and Exodus, hinges on their faithfulness
in extending hospitality to strangers. Hospitality sets Abraham and Lot
apart, particularly from Lot's neighbors in Sodom. The Sodomites are
described as satisfied and self-sufficient (full of bread), yet they act with
extreme inhospitable hostility to strangers (Gen 19:5). For his part,
Abraham minimizes the feast he offers, central to which are bread-cakes made by
Sarah from over 90 cups of flour, yet he recognizes that by welcoming the
stranger he may well be entertaining angels (Gen 18). Citing Jeffery Geohagan, he underlines the parallels between this Gen 18-19 with the Passover narrative in Exodus. The takeaway being that "the imitation and emulation of God's actions stands at the root of the biblical concept of hospitality" (Vondey 96).
My association with the Catholic Worker movement has taught me to see hospitality as a form of resistance. Welcoming the stranger can be a bit counter-cultural. Particularly in the case of someone who is homeless, undocumented, transgendered, or Republican, depending on your circles, to welcome her extravagantly to a family gathering might ruffle some feathers. It is even better to see hospitality as Vondey describes it, inspired by the "vision to live in a world without strangers" (99). In a world governed by laws and mores that discourage social mixing, hospitality frees both host and guest as they are elevated through shared bread to companionship with each other and with God (103).
In my ministry, I am often feel the pressure of not having enough resources to go around or time to spend getting to know those with whom I work on a deeper level. If I can give them a fraction of what they need, they often go away grateful, but unfilled. What would it look like to meet not only John Chrysostom's minimal standard of hospitality (civility, attention, and restraint), but to go beyond this and to remove the shame of being in need of hospitality through attentive service and a demonstration of word and deed that to receive a guest is to receive (not bestow) a favor (*Vondey 86,100)? What attitude toward my own time must I adopt? How can I dispose of the goods that have been entrusted to me for others' benefit in an equitable, yet generous, way? How much energy ought I devote to increasing the resources available in general as opposed to rationing what I already I know I have?
*John Chrysostom, Homilies on Genesis 41.26 (in French) and Homily 14
Photo Credit: http://stnickporticons.com/hospitality.html
Photo Credit: http://stnickporticons.com/hospitality.html
Thank you for your thoughts! Your posting provided an interesting read. I agree with you in that welcoming strangers can sometimes feel counter-cultural or odd at times. As you point out, this is particularly the case with someone who is homeless, undocumented, etc. When we find ourselves in these situations, we can lessen the feeling of strangeness in these relationships by visualizing ourselves in the experiences of the stranger. For example, how often have we been strangers in a new community? How close are we to real and objective homelessness? We all may be just a few life-changing circumstances away from real homelessness. Some of us have never been homeless but have culturally been outcasts within a society or have found ourselves fighting for mere respect and dignity. When we see ourselves in the homeless, outcast, disenfranchised, etc. we can obtain a better posture of solidarity with them. We gain a more real and tangible perspective of togetherness. I respect what you do and hope to lean more from you in class.
ReplyDeleteJ – Loved the reflection questions you had at the end of your posting. They were definitely food for thought.
ReplyDeleteI sort of trudged through the introduction of Wolfgang Vondey’s book, “People of Bread” wondering how on earth he was going to write an entire book on this image of bread. But, chapters two and three really drew me into the narrative of God’s “chosen” people and into agreement with Vondey’s view of the significance of bread in the stories of scripture. Through those scripture passages he pointed out, his assertion that bread was used as a “test” by God in many of the familiar stories of the Old Testament started to ring true for me. In the past, I hadn’t seen the significance of the connection of “bread.” But, the scripture references Vondey quoted about Abraham welcoming the strange men, the Israelites journey in the desert, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and Lot’s hospitality, etc. made unmistakable connections for me. As Vondey points out, “The image of bread in these stories extends the biblical understanding of companionship into the realm of hospitality” (Pg. 90). Vondey brings attention to the narratives that tell the tale of how God found favor and was generous with those people who were hospitable, while those who were not hospitable were punished. I was especially drawn to Vondey’s conclusions that “hospitality is an extention of the covenant relationship with God into the world” (pg. 101), and that even those who are “outside of God’s covenant” (102), are invited to “eternal fellowship at God’s table (102). Therefore, shouldn't we, with as giving and loving a heart as God has, extend companionship and hospitality to ALL God’s people. Chrysostom admonishes us to follow this rule, “Hospitality to strangers is hospitality to God” (86). Taking that notion a step further, I would ask the question, “who is the stranger.” Sometimes, the very people with whom we live can become strangers to us. Extending this notion of companionship and hospitality-love, generosity, and compassion- to everyone in our circle of life seems to me to be an even deeper meaning beyond the texts. How life changing would that be if we actually lived our lives by that perspective?
The insights pointed out in these chapters have helped me to view and draw on the scriptures of the Old Testament and the symbolism of “bread” with new eyes. As the scriptures open up more and more for me, this new knowledge and new awareness into them are important not only to my own faith walk and my own spiritual transformation, but through me, to those I minister to. One of the challenges of my ministry is to help a person to understand the importance of bringing what God reveals to us through scripture and in prayer into the everyday moments of our lives. The more we understand scripture, the more we can learn to "walk in God's ways."
I was struck by your comment that those we live with or are close to can be considered strangers. It is another area in which we can work on fellowship. Thank you for that.
DeleteAs I read through the first few chapters of Vondey’s ‘People of Bread,’ I found myself constantly drawn to the image of a huge table of people sitting around sharing a meal together. In our work in Eastern Europe among Muslims and Eastern Orthodox, this idea of ‘sharing bread’ together is still the norm. In Macedonia, where we lived, bread was the life of a family. It filled the stomachs when other food was too expensive to buy (a loaf of bread cost about 25 cents because of government subsidies). Even as abundant as bread was, it was viewed, as Vondey points out, as ‘a responsibility to give one’s bread to those who are in need (41).’As a child, I remember sharing numerous meals with family and friends, including bread as a staple. As an adult, these times of fellowship are few. Within the church, they are often centered around the Lord’s Supper, with no other fellowship involved, or a meal on Wednesday night or Sunday after church, sometimes with little ‘presence of Christ.’ Why can’t the Lord’s Supper be a meal and time of sharing of bread, instead of the traditional brief celebration within the Mass or church service?
ReplyDeleteVondey also points out in Chapter 4 that bread is a part of mission in the New Testament (126-140). The Luke 10:3-7 passage is especially dear to me. Alan J. Roxburgh, in ‘Missional: Joining God in the Neighborhood*,’ makes a passionate plea for Christians to look beyond the church and to seek a new way of reaching others for Christ, not by bringing them to a church, but by bringing us back to the people. The ‘people,’ in this case, are found in the neighborhoods and communities in which we live, but with whom we, as church members, seem to have forgotten how to interact. He believes that our current conversations seem to be focused on ‘us’ and ‘our church’ and ‘our activities,’ and not on God and His interactions with the world. This intersection between Roxburgh and Vondey, of sharing our lives, our bread, and our relationship with God, with those in our communities and around the world, seems to be at the heart of both authors. They approach the sharing of bread from different perspectives, but the conclusions are very similar. More ‘food’ for thought!
*Alan J. Roxburgh, Missional: Joining God in the Neighborhood. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2011
Hospitality of French Bread
ReplyDeleteFrench bread. As a little girl I think I could have lived solely on warm Leidenheimer French bread sliced open and buttered. To this day there is not much that I enjoy more. Does this make me a person of bread? Alas, if it were only that easy. “It is not by bread alone that people live but by all that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord.” (Deut 8:3) So what does it mean to be a people of bread? Vondey (69) says “People of bread are a people of God when there exists no longer a distinction between companionship with God and the responsibility to share God’s bread with one another.” So being a people of bread is a dynamic endeavor. We must be in relationship with God and this relationship must be “embedded in the relationship of human beings with one another”. (65) We glorify God by acknowledging all that he has given to us through his love and mercy and we enter into fellowship with others in sharing these gifts. This is no small undertaking when considering all “that comes from the mouth of the Lord” from the vastness of creation, to the gift of everlasting love and life through his son, to the deliciousness of Leidenheimer French bread.
So how does God call me to be “a person of bread” in my daily life, in ministering to others in my work place? I like the image you shared of Joining God in the Neighborhood. For me “welcoming the stranger” can begin where ever my feet are planted with whoever is before me. When working with a student or teacher who seems angry or disinterested, I must strive to remember to treat him with love and respect. When the first grader I am working with yells the “f” word at the teacher and begins to hit her I must remember to be an advocate of mercy. This child is hurting, marginalized, in need of understanding. It is so easy to fall into gossip and disenchantment in a work place where everyone gives much and receives little.
In thinking back to French bread, it occurs to me that all of my memories associated with this iconic New Orleans cuisine is embedded with love. My first memories are of my aunt serving this to me when I was around 3 or 4 years old and my mother was in the hospital. Other memories include special occasions at restaurants, family celebrations of anniversaries, birthdays, etc. Perhaps French bread and butter can stand on its own merit but my memories are memories of the heart. God looked graciously upon me and gave me His love through family and friends. If I can pass on the essence of the warmth of this love to the students and co-workers in my workplace, then perhaps this small crumb can be the beginning of a relationship of bread. Fellowship passed to me from the father shared with his children.
I too was struck by Vondey's comments on bread and its life giving and social attributes. He notes the etymology of bread itself is social in nature, deriving from words such as "to join," "weld," and "relationship" (37). Throughout the Old Testament, the Israelites use bread as a means of fellowship; Joseph uses bread to reunite with his brothers (Gn 43:31). Vondey gives a litany of examples on pages 37-38 of his book.
ReplyDeleteFour years ago I was sent as a Jesuit Novice to the South American isolated Amerindian village of Aishalton, South America. It was my first experience with third world poverty and subsistence farming. In terms of daily living, it was probably as close as I will ever get to the daily lifestyle of our biblical ancestors. The staple crop for the Amerindians of Guyana is the root of the cassava plant. The root must be harvested, drained of its toxic juices, and baked before it can be consumed. The bread itself is dry, hard, unappetizing, and tasteless; however, it unites the people of the village together (although I did find it to be a good holder for their delicious locally made peanut butter). On the weekends, almost every family (from the youngest children to the eldest members) walk to the cassava farms to harvest and prepare the cassava for consumption. While each family has its own farm, they are all in close proximity to one another offering a good atmosphere for conversation.
Vondey notes in his fourth chapter that Jesus used the hunger of the people for his own ministry during the multiplication of the loves (118). Bread unites people together. As a communal people, a people who desire communion with one another, we use food to give us life both spiritually and physically. While the Amerindians of Guyana need to harvest the cassava as a means for physical survival, they also use it as a means of community. Nearly every time I visited a local’s home, I was offered cassava bread and juice. When a guest in someones home, I never went hungry. I thought that was impressive for a community that could starve at the next bad harvest. As Americans, we have much to learn from them.
A friend of my sisters reminds himself of Jesus by literally breaking bread at his dinner table. When possible, the bread served is specially chosen for its taste and nutrients. When all else fails, a slice of grocery sandwich bread is passed around with everyone taking a piece. That is what I think of as I read Wolfgang Vondey’s People of the Bread.
ReplyDeleteIt was pointed out in a sermon at my church why everyday foods, bread and wine, were chosen by Jesus when he asked his disciples to “Do this in memory of me.” Yes, it was Passover and these items were already symbolic of God’s salvific actions toward the Jews. However, the choice of familiar and accessible items also cuts across cultures and classes. This aligns with Vondey’s view that the sharing of bread is an offering of community and fellowship (65). It is offered to all.
While I have not completely got my head around Vondey’s sense of bread as a centralized symbol, I love what he captures about hospitality. In many other cultures hospitality and what it requires, is much stronger than what is common in the U.S. Offering food and shelter can be about survival, like for those traveling the desert. This necessity supersedes close connections and is offered to enemies as well as family and friends. Along with food and shelter there is a fundamental expectation that your host will protect you during your stay. This is why Lot goes so far as to offer his daughters in an effort to keep his guests from harm. A recent visitor to Israel told me that that hospitality requires that an adversary be given 48 hours after their departure before they can be pursued.
A priest passed this treasure to me from a colleague. In his homeland of Turkey they see 3 stages of offering hospitality: welcoming a stranger in one’s home, sharing a meal, and thirdly they hope to offer the ultimate hospitality, that of the heart in opening one’s heart a stranger. It is a reminder that I try to keep close as I work in ministries that are hospitality related. I hope that my faith is reflected in some way like this “..hospitality to strangers allows God’s people to act out their relationship with others as a deliberate reflection of God’s hospitality (Vondey 96)
I did not know that the Liturgy of the Hours is a public prayer of the Church, along with the Mass (Sockey, 11). I thought it a private prayer and am intrigued and pleased to learn about its practice that unites with others around the world (Sockey, viii). The Liturgy opens up the rest of the Bible in an organized format that invites the celebration and reflection of each day/evening. In keeping the focus on “the praises of God” (Sacrosanctum Concillium, ch. 4, “The Divine Office,”¶ 84), it turns or “returns” our attention to the holiness of every moment. It underscores Julian of Norwich’s “All is well.” Its form complements our human activities throughout the day/evening with nature’s flow from sunrise to sunset to moonrise. While recognizing the already busy-ness of each day, I look forward to incorporating it into my daily life.
ReplyDeleteVondey, People of Bread: “companion” = sharing bread together (42). What a beautiful image of bread as God “providing his companionship” to the Israelites and then, to all (45). “Companionship” nourishes both body and soul (44), thus making bread the “unmistakable symbol of the social nature of the people of God” (44).
As a Eucharistic bread baker for my worship community, I am aware of the special blessing conferred on me in participating in this ministry. While I do not always succeed, I try to honor God and my community in attending to the Eucharistic bread preparation and baking when I am rested, gracious and grateful. I plan to add a baking prayer to my preparation “that recognizes God as ‘the nourisher and the Father of all’ (Vondey 46). My small role in the sharing of God’s companionship lets me extend and participate in God’s hospitality to a small part of the world (Vondey 101-02).
Wolfgang Vonday sees bread as an image of the Church in People of Bread. The bread of the Passover when God led them out of Egypt, and the manna God sent in the wilderness were signs of Israel’s dependence on God and God’s fidelity to his promises (46). Nearly everything else that happened was understood in relation to these pivotal moments when God tested them (and they often came up wanting) (79). They constantly pushed the limits. God got angry and punished them, but then gave them what they had cried out for (bread, meat). What comes through is God’s faithfulness. I can relate to this.
ReplyDeleteEverything they gave to God, God had first given to them. The Offertory of the Mass says, “…through your goodness we have received the bread we offer you….” Yes, it is the “fruit of the earth and the work of human hands,” but it is first of all a gift that we received from God and are now returning (49). God, through the priest, will transform it into the Body of Christ, and the priest will give it to us, just as in the miracle of the loaves, Jesus gave the apostles the loaves he had blessed to distribute to the people hungry for the bread of life (121-128, 135-137). I don’t always see it, but everything God gives me is the body of Christ.
I asked the women I visit in prison if bread could be an image of the Church. First, they thought of the Eucharist. “Do you receive bread with your meals?” They get rolls that are cold and hard from being in the refrigerator. They wrap them in a napkin and put them somewhere till they get soft and warm. “Could these rolls be an image of the church?” They said that they may share with someone who is new, or lonely, or hungry. One person said, “We’re all eating the same bread, so we are the Body of Christ! This whole place can become the Body of Christ.” They were excited by that idea, and will keep thinking about this for next week. Stay tuned!