Lord Jesus,

when you were a guest at meals,

amazing things happened –

water became wine,

the hungry were fed,

lost souls came home.

Come now and be our guest,

with us around this table,

and, by your presence,

make this home

a place of infinite grace,

a place of new possibility,

full of the Life that is you.

Amen

Neil Paynter (adapted)

Graces for praying at mealtimes come in all shapes and sizes – spoken, sung, silent; reflective, amusing, challenging. This one refers to familiar gospel-meals – a wedding banquet at Cana, a bread and fish picnic, an eyebrow-raising visit to a despised tax collector used to loathing and loneliness. At each, the presence of Jesus brought complete transformation. In the same way that he’s being invited to be seated for the simple family meal in Fritz von Uhde’s thought-provoking painting, today’s prayer asks that Jesus will join those about to eat wherever the prayer is being prayed.

And how might he transform us? Perhaps by filling us with peace after a torrid day. Perhaps in the loving-kindness between those at table together. Perhaps in grateful hearts spilling out in compassion for the hungry. Perhaps in welcoming others to the meal… Saying Grace can be risky.

Many thousands of homes are currently preparing to welcome Ukrainian guests not just around their tables but in their spare rooms too. In showing hospitality to strangers, “some have entertained angels without knowing it,” we read in Hebrews (13.2), and Jesus made it crystal clear that when we welcome a stranger, we welcome him (Mt 25. 31-46). Sharing our table in this way is a sacred act. As v3 of Marty Haugen’s hymn below makes clear, it mirrors the radical welcome Jesus himself offers when he becomes the host at the meal of all meals.