Beer and Bread: A match made in leaven

Bread is extremely important in the Bible. This is good news to me because I frickin' love bread and the Bible too. During Jesus' last meal with his disciples, he ate bread with them. Like any classy dude, Jesus obviously BROKE the bread, instead of cutting it. Seriously, the Greek word ἔκλασεν (from Luke 22:19) means "he broke," so no one can tell me Jesus didn't know his hosting etiquette. After Jesus broke bread with His disciples, the simple act of breaking bread would never be the same. It was established as a central ritual of the Christian community. Now, anyone who knows anything about the chemistry of beer knows that it is basically liquid beer. Wait a second...

wat?

Let's drink beer at communion! I think that there is a strong, unserious, case for drinking beer at communion. I mean, they're both made from grain, water, and yeast. First, let's think about what breaking bread means in the Bible, then examine what beer means for us today and see where we get.

Even before Jesus broke bread at the last supper, He served it to thousands of hungry people who had gathered to listen to Him. These people had given up a lot to come and see Jesus and the breaking of bread, in this case, represented Jesus showing that he would totally take care of them because he appreciated them.

Doesn't beer totally function this way today? A friend of mine is a nurse, God bless her, and when she is at a bar and lets it slip that this is her job, people often buy her a beer. Why? Because people appreciate nurses and want to make sure that this particular nurse is taken care of. It's about gratitude. Soldiers and police officers often get similar treatment. It's the way it should be.It's the same gesture of appreciation and hospitality that Jesus showed to people that he appreciated.

Then there's the famous Last Supper. This was Jesus' last meal with his good friends. As he as breaking the bread he said "this is my body broken for you." Dang. That's a weird line to pull out as a host. But it signifies two important things. Jesus was being super hospitable. Hospitable to the point of self-sacrifice. Furthermore, he made it clear that his hospitality was for "the forgiveness of sins." The Last Supper represented the reconciliation of people with God. We are in a sticky situation with God because of our sin, but breaking bread represents things being made right.

This makes me think of a significant cultural moment of the past few years. Remember that awkward moment when a Boston cop arrested a black Harvard professor for "breaking in" to his own house? There was a lot f tension after this, with very reasonable accusations of racism being put forward. President Obama then called the famous "beer summit" where he invited the officer and the professor to have beers with him and Joe Biden in the Rose Garden. It was an awkward solution for a very awkward situation. But Obama knew that when you need reconciliation, look to beer.These guys had a serious conflict, but in "breaking bread" by pouring beer, they were able to find a way forward.

Obama: Lager, Cop: Wheat, Professor: Doppel, Biden: Non-Alcohlic

Knowing that the power of bread/beer is so powerful, Jesus gave a command to the disciples to keep breaking bread together and to do so "in remembrance of me." Scripture indicates that they actually listened to him. Acts 2:42 reports on the early Church, saying "they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." They continued to break bread together in remembrance of their friend and Lord Jesus. And, of course, they also prayed and stuff. This act of breaking bread together has persisted in the Church to this day. All Christians everywhere still break bread together on a regular basis. It's called communion.

Just as this communal breaking of bread was essential in strengthening the community of the early Church, pouring beer has an incredible ability to build community today. Especially when there is something everyone holds in common. Something that is worth drinking to. Gathering a community together and proposing a toast to the values of that community is an incredibly powerful gesture for those involved. Friends might gather and propose a toast to an old buddy who has passed on. Patriots might gather and propose a toast to their nation. Communion is the ultimate expression of this. Christians get together and drink to Jesus, our friend, the center of our lives,and our Lord.

We toast everything else with beer, why not take communion with beer? It's our culture.


I know that not everyone can drink beer, so here is an alternative.

Ciders on the Storm

Ingredients: 3/4 bottle original flavor hard cider, 1 oz Grey Goose La Poire pear vodka, a splash of Patron Citronge.

Put vodka in chalice, pour cider over it. Stir gently. Splash patron citronge on top.