Bread.

“Our Father, who art in heaven”

It’s the start of a really famous prayer.

It’s full of grand things: hallowedness. trespassing. kingdoms. glory. They are the kind of images that fit well with the majestic songs of Christmas.

Buried in the middle of the prayer is a simple daily request. “Give us this day our daily bread.”

It doesn’t feel like a demand. I hear it as a request, actually. There is a poignancy to it. At a time when day laborers depended on receiving their wages daily s...