“Christ is bread, wine, and oil.”
The short sermon “On the Cross” (CPG 4104) is as much a meditation on the biblical image of the Vineyard of God as it is a meditation on the saving work of Christ. Indeed, this short text identifies the Cross of Christ as the inheritance of Christians (taken from Israel and given to the Gentiles), upon which hangs the Pearl of Great Price. The Cross as the vine of eternal life is typologically connected with the Tree of Paradise, and the author makes full use of the agricultural and horticultural symbolism present in this image. Towards the end of the sermon, the language of the tree, the vine, and the field of harvest is tied together with Eucharistic imagery, calling Christ the Bread, Wine, and Oil by which the Church is nourished.
Saint Ephrem the Syrian 