If I had to pick one item of furniture to symbolize my upbringing, it would be the family dining table. I don’t mean a specific table; I mean the events that happened around it. Every meal began with a prayer of thanksgiving, many of which were sung.
There is something incredibly equalizing and intimate about breaking bread with others. There is an implicit understanding that eating together is an invitation to another person to come closer, to connect more deeply.
When the saints all gather together at the heavenly banquet in God’s kingdom, I sincerely hope that I will be sitting next to people who influenced my life.
This message is adapted from “Relationships around Food” by the Rev. Susan Schneider in the February 2010 issue of Cafe. Today is the seventh Sunday after Epiphany. The readings are Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18; Psalm 119:33-40; 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23; Matthew 5:38-48. Please pray for our synodical women’s organization presidents as they travel home from their annual meeting in Chicago today.
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