Unless a grain of wheat….

by Jodi-beth McCain, Elementary Catechist and Director of Religious Education

Recently during prayer service two lower elementary students shared their “Report on the History of Wheat and Bread” with their classmates:

"We worked together on the mustard seed.  We drew the mystery of life and death.  We planted wheat.  Miss Jodi-beth gave us the lesson on the history of bread.  It was summer break.  Miss Nieva harvested the wheat.  We researched, “are there other ways to crush wheat?”  Then we illustrated a book about the history of bread.  We researched mortar and pestles.  Then we crushed our wheat with the mortar and pestle.  We researched bread recipes. Then we found a recipe and doubled it. Then we made bread."

They read aloud the words of Jesus from the material called “the mystery of life and death;” 

These are the words they were pondering when they decided to plant wheat seeds in the courtyard garden box:

Unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat.  But if it falls to the earth and dies, it produces much fruit. (John 12:24)

Next, one large loaf of bread was cut into pieces, one for each member of the class.  All ate in expectant silence. 

The researchers, with much sincerity, asked their classmates, “How did the bread taste?”  The answers came: “delightful,” “delicious,” “so good that I saved some for later.”  One child shared that eating the bread reminded her of the Last Supper.

Together we then recalled the Last Supper.  When I wondered why Jesus broke the bread, one child responded that there were two reasons: because the breaking of the bread was “like his body was broken” when he died, and to “share the bread with his disciples.”

I asked what happened after Jesus died, and many voices responded, “he rose!”  We talked about Jesus sharing bread with his friends after he rose, and about how those who have wanted to know Jesus since that time have also broken and shared bread.

The researchers chose to conclude prayer service by singing “One bread, one body, one Lord of all… and we, though many, throughout the earth, we are one body in this one Lord.” 

They then joyfully announced that they had also made a small bread for each child to take home with them.

Were any of you invited by your children to share in this bread?

Can you create a moment to imagine the work of these two students: the work of the past many months, and perhaps even the work of the many years since they were first introduced to the mustard seed in their early days in the primary?

Can you imagine the joy of sharing this bread together?

What gift can you find in the grain of wheat or in the sharing of this bread?

Giving thanks for your children and for their celebration of being “one body in this one Lord”,