August 18, Ordinary 20B (John 6:51–58)
The Greek word sarx could well be translated as “hamburger” rather than “flesh.”
When I teach children about the sacrament of communion, one of my favorite parts is making the “our daily bread” collage. I didn’t come up with this activity; I adapted it from the Augsburg Fortress curriculum Fed and Forgiven, the fourth- through sixth-grade edition. Though it was published long enough ago to come with a CD-ROM, it still works. It’s been interesting to watch ten-year-olds’ responses evolve over my 20-year career.
The activity begins by reading the “Give us this day our daily bread” portion of Martin Luther’s commentary on the Lord’s Prayer from his Small Catechism. I always point out that Luther interprets “daily bread” in a maximalist way. He does not think human beings should be content with just the bare essentials of existence—a cardboard box for shelter, a crust of bread for food. He writes that we should pray for God to provide such necessities as good government, good weather, health, and even “upright children,” which always gets a chuckle. I ask the kids to write “Our Daily Bread” across a piece of construction paper and then, using a pile of well-thumbed magazines, pick out images that fit their definition. What might we add to Luther’s list in the 21st century?
While the occasional video game console or pair of designer leggings does come up, overall I am always impressed by how seriously the kids take the exercise. Pets and cell phones always appear, but so do vegetables, bicycles, books, and even siblings. Good jobs were added after the Great Recession, Wi-Fi during the COVID epidemic, first responders during the wildfires of last summer.
