On The Seventh Day Of Christmas: Everyday Communion

Everything we eat gives up its life for us.

In our busy-ness, it's easy to make times of preparing and partaking of daily bread just another of the necessary tasks on our pressing to-do lists. We become focused on simply making the process as efficient as possible. 

But the older I get the more I see family and other meal times as having the potential for becoming much more than that. They can be daily rituals that are vital to nurturing our bonds with each other along with our sense of reverence for life--and for its Creator and Provider.

All of the meat, the vegetables and the fruit of the earth our Creator has provided for our tables has literally given up its life to make our existence possible, thus making meals a kind of eucharistic experience. Think of God being present with words like "this represents my body, my blood, my life" given for all of you. Think of all the people around the world who have contributed to our having this abundance to enjoy.

So as we partake of our fair share of the world's "daily bread", we need to be aware that we never eat this manna alone, but at one table with all God's children, all receiving God's everyday grace.

I know that sounds a little lofty, but I do believe that all communal meals can invite conversations that deepen the ties that bind us all together. And that all of our around-the-table times can nourish not only our bodies, but soul and spirit as well.