(This is the final sermon in our Lenten series, "Recipe for Repentance".
Previous sermons can be found here, here, here, here, here, and here
Previous sermons can be found here, here, here, here, here, and here
and the Ash Wednesday message can be found here.)
He is risen! He is risen indeed!
Speaking of rising, let’s talk about bread (you can remind me to add “master of segues” to my resume later).
Throughout Lent, we’ve been talking about the specific ingredients that go into a recipe, and I’ve been particularly thinking about the ingredients of bread: yeast, flour, sugar, salt, water. It strikes me that none of these raw ingredients, on their own, are particularly appetizing. I mean, hot water isn’t very refreshing without tea or cocoa in it, and even sugar is pretty boring without any other flavoring, and I don’t know anyone who snacks on handfuls of flour, yeast, or salt. But when you combine them with intentionality, care, and patience, you suddenly find that you have before you a homemade loaf of bread. Fresh, warm, appetizing. Capable of nourishing a body, of satiating hunger, and of bringing gastronomical delight. This transformation, from unpalatable ingredients to delicious delicacy, is, frankly, unexpected, if not downright miraculous.