A liturgy for meals with students.
You ate often with Your students, years and years ago
As you journeyed in this foreign place that You designed
From before the beginning.
You chose those ordinary moments to convey Your abiding truths.
“I alone will provide what you need.
I alone will satisfy your soul’s deep hunger.
I alone will quench your soul’s deep thirst.
I am here daily with you. Talk to me. Listen to me.
I delight in inviting you to the table. You are welcomed.
You have a place here with me. Sit and rest for a while.”
You came as the Bread of Life to feed hungry souls,
Yet you were willing to be broken like bread for them.
You came as the Living Water to quench their thirst,
Yet you were willing to be poured out as an offering on their behalf.
You were the Creator of the very trees that formed their common table,
Yet you were willing to rise from that common table and wash their dusty feet.
Always, always, Your heart’s posture was that of welcome and provision.
As I prepare for meals with my students this month, remind me
That setting a table with welcome can soften a heart.
That at Your table nothing is ever wasted.
That simplicity of setting and circumstance matter not, for You are the supply.
That as You gather with us, unseen but ever present, we have more than enough.
Guide my mind, that I may be present with my students as we gather at the table.
Unhurried. Lingering. Smiling. Laughing. Satisfied.
Guide my eyes to see beyond the faces around me to the needs before me.
The need to be heard. The need to be seen. The need to be welcomed in.
Guide my speech to be always with grace, seasoned with salt. May Your truth be on my lips.
Words of encouragement. Words of hope. Words of comfort.
Guide my heart to wash their feet by listening intently, asking questions, seeking common ground.
Thank you, Father, for spreading a feast before me daily.
You are my portion. You are more than enough.
Amen.
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