Dip

If the only experience you've ever had of the Table is a little bit of cracker and a little bit of juice, then you're missing something of the Upper Room. You're missing something of what this moment really was. 

The cracker and juice are so universal that in the spaces in which I have worked as a chaplain, there's always a stash of it around and everyone understands what it means. Catholic, Protestant, traditional, charismatic, whatever - everyone "gets" the cracker and juice. 

Not all bodies us this in their regular celebration of the sacrament - I have heard many variations on a theme over the years. Hawaiian bread in one congregation, fresh-made crisp from the local Jewish bakery, oyster crackers, simple wafers, loaves prepared by the women of the church. There is no shortage in variation when it comes to the way we set the Table. 

But one thing always seems to be missing: 

The dip. 

When we read the Gospel accounts of the Upper Room, when we hear the story of how Jesus broke bread with His disciples, there's a moment at which Jesus is "dipping the bread" while talking about what is about to happen. In fact, it is this dipped bread that He hands to Judas Iscariot when He identifies the disciple as His betrayer. 

Dipped bread. 

Whenever I remember this, I always think first about some kind of olive oil. I love a good bread dipped in oil. But I also recognize that the breads that dip best in oil are leavened breads - breads risen by yeast with enough space inside of them to really soak it up. Crackers just don't dip as well. 

Unless we're talking about a real dip. Artichoke, ranch, French onion, hummus. Think about the possibilities! Oh, what a rich palate of flavors we're introducing to the Table! 

The Bible doesn't tell us exactly what the dip is; the closest translation of the words is simply "the dish." Jesus dipped the bread into "the dish," whatever the dish contained. And that's probably a good thing because I think we would easily become legalistic about whatever was really in the dish, and that's not the point. 

The point is that Jesus flavored the bread. He spiced it up. He made it more than the simple little cracker that we've grown accustomed to. 

And I think...it's still flavored today. 

I think today, the flavor of the bread is the flavor of whatever season we're in. Whatever of our life that we bring to the Table with us. I think today, the bread is flavored with our joy, with our sorrow, with our longing, with our hope, with our grief, with our failure, with our triumph, with our love. The bread is flavored with His grace, whatever we need of it in the moment that we come. 

This is no plain little cracker. And contrary to the whimsy of generations of mischievous church teens, neither is it a little cracker dipped in a little juice. 

No, friends. This is a cracker dipped in life. In the flavors of our existence. In the palate of our faith. 

Jesus dipped the bread in the dish and handed it to Judas. And to Peter. And to James. And to John. And to Thomas. And to you. And to me. 

Put a little dip on that thing and eat. This is My body, broken for you.