St. Michael's New Gospel Book

Several months ago, on the advice of my spiritual director, I set out to do something creative. After speaking with one of the artists in our congregation, we came up with the idea of a gospel book for the church. Since St. Michael’s style is more wood than metal, we thought working in that medium would be best. The pictures you see in this article of the finished product. I thought it might be fun to share them with people here.

Description:  Gospel books are part of the ancient traditions of the Christian Church. In the past, as well as today, they are often made from a number of materials and are ornate, expressing a number of different aspects of the faith. The gospel book below contains a mold of a carved icon of the Christ Pantocrator, or Almighty. This is one of the oldest icons of the church and depicts Christ holding his gospel. The image reminds us of our patristic past and seems fitting for a gospel book. On the reverse side of the book we find the image of the Celtic cross. Crosses are common on gospel books and this one serves to remind us of the Celtic influence on our tradition. The other inlays are comprised of various woods and are covered in resin. These designs are merely ornamental in nature and connect the book to the architecture in the building for which it was designed.

Unleavened Bread

"Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch, as you really are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." (1 Corinthians 5:6b-8)

As Israel fled their enslavement in the land of Egypt they did not have time to prepare all they would need for their journey. One of the things that had to be skipped was adding the yeast to the dough of their bread because they would not have had time to let the bread rise before baking it. In Jewish tradition, this imagery of removing the leaven from the bread during the Passover meal has remained and the symbolism attached to it during Jesus’ day and ours is that the yeast or leaven represents the sin and evil inside us. Therefore, in this passage, we are encouraged not only to remove what is corrupt in us, but to live a life that reflects that absence.

In the church, this imagery of the unleavened bread is also reflected in our Eucharist. This Sunday, as you gather at your church to celebrate the sacrifice of Christ and his resurrection, I hope you will reflect on this passage and all the symbolism that adorns this service. As we meditate on these things and celebrate the risen lord, may we do so with more than just our regular pomp and circumstance, but also with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth in our heart.