The Word in the Wings
The Word in the Wings > The Rich Baker’s Wisdom
The Rich Baker's Wisdom
By: Aleksa Lawry
I am Company Artist Aleksa Lawry, and I play the part of the rich baker, Adeline, in the upcoming world premiere of “The Little Loaf.” Adeline is the owner of a thriving bakery in the small town where the main character, Greta, lives. When famine leaves the townsfolk starving and penniless, Adeline bakes and gives free bread to the community to help them through the time of scarcity.
Stepping into Adeline’s shoes through this rehearsal process has made me very fond of her. She’s quirky but wise, passionate but practiced, scatterbrained but deeply devoted to her baking and to the people of the town. Even when her free bread initiative leads to greed, fighting, chaos, and destruction, it never crosses Adeline’s mind that she should cease her charity. Adeline simply shows up the next day with a basket of bread and a heart ready to give (and a cart she can hide behind as a shield).
In Matthew 25, Jesus, speaking of the righteous, says, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, … ‘Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you…’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me’” (Matthew 25: 35, 37, & 40). In other words, God’s compassion for the hungry is so great that He considers an act of love to the hungry to be the same as an act of love to Him. In “The Little Loaf,” Adeline recognizes that her abundance puts her in a valuable position to help when no one else can, so she chooses to give even when the threat of danger begins to grow. When the townspeople display ungrateful, jealous behavior even after receiving free food, when violence comes against Adeline and her shop, Adeline has every reason to retract the free gift she had been giving, every reason except one: that giving to the poor and needy is what Jesus commanded. Giving was the right thing to do.
"God's compassion for the hungry is so great that He considers an act of love to the hungry to be the same as an act of love to him."
When I step into the role of Adeline, her choice to show up the next day with warm, free bread after the acts of aggression and unfiltered greed the townspeople showed just one day prior convicts me. Adeline carries under her baker’s hat a heart of forgiveness I sometimes struggle to see displayed in myself. I think many of us are willing to forgive those who wrong us and remove them from our lives, but to willingly return to those who hurt you and offer yourself up again is not just difficult, but seemingly contrary to common sense, and yet it is what Jesus commands.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks of our response to others who hurt us, saying, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also… Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you” (Matthew 5:38-39,42). Adeline knows that without her help the people of the town will starve, and she knows that she is commanded by her Lord and Master to give, even if the townsfolk never thank her for her work, even if she gets hurt again, even if they take everything and give nothing back. Adeline’s reward is the pleasure that comes from a servant’s heart, and the knowledge that whatever she does for the least, she does for her King.
"Adeline's reward is... the knowledge that whatever she does for the least, she does for her king."
You’ll have to see the show for yourself to see how Adeline’s story ends, but whether or not the townsfolk come to appreciate her work is secondary in importance. The primary characteristic of Adeline’s that I hope to take with me after the show is wrapped up is her commitment to give even when no one says thank you, and to forgive even when no one says sorry.
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