Breaking the bread

17 Breaking the bread

The breaking of the bread is the third of the four actions of Jesus at the last supper: taking, giving thanks, breaking, giving. At a certain level it is a purely utilitarian action: bread needs to be broken if it is to be shared. But the ‘fraction’, as it is often called, is also significant theologically, both in asserting something about the unity and diversity of the Church, the body of Christ, but also about its brokenness, which reflects the truth that it was the broken body of the crucified Christ that redeems…