As a sheep He was led to the slaughter,

And as a spotless lamb before His shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.

In His humiliation, his justice was denied Him,

And who shall declare His generation.

For His life was taken up from the earth.[1]

Sacrificed is the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world, for the life and the salvation of the world."[2]

"And one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear and there came out blood and water, and he who saw it bore witness and his testimony is true."[3]

With these words, the priest prepares and removes the designated section of the Eucharistic loaf, called the Lamb, places it on the diskos[4] and pours the wine into the Chalice. The Mystical Supper is prepared and made ready to present to God in anticipation that He will give to us in return, His precious and all-holy Body and Blood for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting. By this means, we are redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb.

Since the fall of man came about through food, God has brought about the redemption of man through food. Therefore, what more appropriate theme than “food” could be found about which to write?

The Bread of the Presence

In one of many accounts of the Resurrection, we find in Luke’s Gospel the story of Christ's appearance to two of His followers on the road to Emmaus:

Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.

And they said to one another, “Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?

So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem , and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!

And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of the bread.[5]

Do you believe the Lord can be known by us and reveals Himself to us in the breaking of the bread? I do. Furthermore, I believe that He nourishes and strengthens our hearts when we partake of His Body and Blood.

Even under the Old Covenant the showbread of the Tabernacle was considered holy.[6] Why was it called "showbread?” What did it "show? " What did it “reveal” if not the presence of the Lord? The word is even translated in the Revised Standard Version of the Bible as "the Bread of the Presence."[7] Whose presence if not the Presence of the Lord?

How much more, then, under the New Covenant of grace does the bread from the Holy Altar, the Bread from Heaven, the Bread of Life[8] manifest and reveal the presence of the Lord as we, with fear of God, with faith and love, draw near to receive it.

The priest pointing to the bread exclaims, "...and show this bread to be itself, the Body of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ."[9] The word "show" is the same word in Greek that we often translate into English--"manifest" or "reveal." Having ascended into the heavenly Jerusalem, we cry out to Him in song as did the multitudes who took branches of palm trees and went out to meet the Lord in the Jerusalem of old, singing: “Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord. God is the Lord and has revealed Himself to us.”[10]

What a privilege it is then, to be a part of this whole mystery of offering and receiving the Bread of Life from the Altar of God. This is why we should be encouraged to make it a regular practice in our lives to ask to bake the prosphora[11] loaves and offer them in the Church as our special offering and expression of love to God. At the same time we offer the bread, it is customary to submit the names of our loved ones and friends, both living and departed, asking that they especially be remembered in prayer on that day.

Prosphora (Eucharist Bread)

Recipe for 2 Loaves

1 pkg active dry yeast

2c warm water

4-5c white flour (not self-rising)

2tsp salt

1. Dissolve yeast in 1/2c warm water (105-109F) in a measuring cup or drinking glass. Allow it to sit for a few minutes until yeast starts to foam.

2. Pour the other 1-1/2c warm water into a large mixing bowl. Add 3c flour and salt and stir. When yeast is activated (starting to foam) add to mixing bowl with one more cup of flour and stir. Form a soft ball and knead for approximately 10-15 minutes, adding more flour to the work surface as needed to prevent dough from sticking.

Note: Continue to knead and fold dough inside out adding a little flour each time. Dough should be very "stiff" (not at all sticky). Test by sticking your index finger into the dough and removing it without any dough sticking to your finger.

3. Cover with a towel and set aside in a warm place to rise for one hour or until nearly doubled in bulk.

4. About 10 minutes before baking preheat oven to 350F.

5. Punch down the dough and knead for several minutes on a floured surface. With a rolling pin, roll out dough to about 1/2" thick. Cut out with a round object like a large Crisco or coffee can or lid top and set on a lightly floured cookie sheet. It should look like a huge biscuit! With your finger, wet the top with water and set aside. Roll out dough, cut a second time and carefully place a second layer on top of the first.[12]

6. Repeat this process to create the second loaf.

7. Lightly dust the Prosphora Bread Stamp[13] with flour before pressing. Make sure no flour is clogged in the seal--clean out the grooves with a toothpick. Press the bread stamp firmly into the center of the dough. Press down hard enough to impress the seal clearly then lift the stamp carefully.

Note: Prick around edges of seal with a toothpick to avoid creating air pockets under the seal.

8. Bake loaves on a flat baking surface for 25-30 minutes until lightly brown on top.

9. Remove from oven and cool on racks for several hours before wrapping. Cover with a cloth in order to prevent outer crust from getting too hard. Bread should be thoroughly cooled, wrapped,and taken to the church on Saturday night or early Sunday morning.

Prosphora (using 5 loaves)

This is a custom with obvious scriptural overtones of Jesus’ Miracle of the Feeding of the 5000. In larger Churches, this extra amount of bread is needed so that everyone can receive a small piece of the Blessed Bread (antidoron) from which the consecrated bread was taken.

Simply double the ingredients. Only one of the five loaves needs a second layer of dough on top. It's usually best, however, to make three double-layered loaves and two single-layered loaves. This way the pastor can choose the loaf with the best seal as the main loaf.