"When a dinner guest at the table heard this, he said to Jesus, 'Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.' "
     Luke 14:15(NRSV)

"When Jesus was at the table with them, he took bread and broke it, and gave it to them."
     Luke 24:30 (NRSV)

Be present at our table Lord
Be here and everywhere adored.

She sat at the table, in the dayroom of the shelter, in the city, hoping. Hoping the telephone would ring and the voice would tell her that the job she wanted was hers. How did she get here? She had a high school education, even a few college credits. She had married young, had two sweet babies in rapid succession, and lived in a fine townhouse in the city. Then her husband lost his job, started drinking, and became abusive. She could stand it when he beat just her, but when he started hitting the children, she left. Left without much clothing except what she was wearing, the two suitcases that she could manage to carry, and the little money she could scrape together. Her youngsters each carried a backpack with a few toys and books. She was one of the lucky ones, they told her at the shelter. At least she had some office skills, and there was a daycare center where she could be sure the kids were safe while she went out on interviews. They were kind to her here, but it wasn't home.

She sat at the table, in the kitchen of the farmhouse, in the country, watching. Watching the auctioneer sell off the cattle and other livestock, the farm machinery, the pieces of furniture that they couldn't take to the small apartment in the town where she and her husband would live. The farm, in the family for three generations, had already been bought up by a conglomerate. Most of their neighbors had sold out, too. They had survived the dry years, but then the price of milk had dropped so low that none of them could afford to pay off the accumulated debts. Her husband had taken a job in town, and she, too, would be able to find a part time job in one of the stores. But there would be no farm to pass down to the grandchildren, no view of pastureland or woodland to mark the passing seasons. They would be able to exist in the new place, but it wouldn't be home.

She sat at the table, on the porch of the small house, in the town where she had lived for so many years, waiting. Waiting for the boat that would take her to safety, away from all she had in the world. The sandbags had held for several days, they thought they would be safe from the raging waters. The melting ice had prevailed, and the river rose higher until the foundation began to buckle, and she would have to leave. She packed a few possessions - her grandmother's quilt, her mother's teapot, a few family photos. So many other things could never be replaced; the rocking chair her father had made for her, her large collection of books, all the small knick-knacks given to her by her students during the years she taught in the local school. She had never married, so these were all her "children". She would go and live with her sister and brother-in-law, at least for a while, but their place was small, and it was ÒtheirÓ place. She knew it would never be her home.

He sat at the table, in the upper room, in the city, praying. Praying for his disciples, for the world, for his enemies. Soon he would have to leave this place; he knew he would have to suffer and die. And he said, "This is my body, this is my blood; Come to my table and never be hungry again." He had been a wanderer all his life, born in a borrowed stable, forced to flee the country when he was a small child, roaming the hillsides and deserts without provisions. He had been homeless for most of his life. He told them, "I go to prepare a place for you, a home where you will be safe, and loved, and happy: an eternal home."

We shall sit at the table with Him, in the Father's mansion, in paradise, singing. Singing praises with the heavenly host to the joy of the eternal God. He has welcomed us to his banquet table, to share the most important feast ever given. And no one will ever be thirsty, and no one will ever be hungry, and no one will ever be homeless again.

Thy creatures bless, and grant that we
May feast in paradise with thee.
Amen

Contributed by Rosemary S.
Published Monday November 24, 2003
Week 52 of Liturgical Year B