Biblical Invitations

Today’s prayer for Ukraine is in the form of a hymn used within the churches of that war-torn land.

Lord, oh the Great and Almighty,
Protect our beloved Ukraine,
Bless her with freedom and light
Of your holy rays.

With learning and knowledge enlighten
Us, your children small,
In love pure and everlasting
Let us, oh Lord, grow.

We pray, oh Lord Almighty,
Protect our beloved Ukraine,
Grant our people and country
All your kindness and grace.

Bless us with freedom, bless us with wisdom,
Guide into kind world,
Bless us, oh Lord, with good fortune
For ever and evermore.

Now when He had spoken, a Pharisee asked Him to have lunch with him; and He went in, and reclined at the table. (Read the whole passage in Luke 11:37-54)

Here we find a second incident where Jesus is invited to lunch by a Pharisee.

In the past two years we have heard endless messages about hand-washing and sanitising whereby cleanliness and hygiene have been continually highlighted due to the prevalence coronavirus. Back in the time when the Gospels were written, ritual washing had a practical element but it became much more than that.The gospel traditions makes clear that part of Jesus' message was a new way of thinking about what was 'holy'. For Jesus, holiness is not a matter of avoiding what is considered ritually impure. Such an attitude can only lead to fear and paralysis, because the boundaries between pure and impure need to be rigorously policed.

When Jesus and his followers eat and drink with those declared sinners and outcasts, God's Kingdom comes about: a moment of liberation. Jews and Gentiles eat together at the same table, without fear of contamination. Who cannot but be moved by the sight of Ukrainian women offering food and drink to the young Russian conscripts captured as part of the ongoing War.   

Pope Francis says that the person receiving communion ought to take on the mentality of Jesus and live for Him and for others. “One who is nourished by the sacrament assimilates the Lord’s very mentality. He is Bread broken for us and those who receive it become in turn broken bread, which is not leavened with pride, but is given to others: they stop living for themselves, for success, to gain something or to become someone, but live for Jesus and like Jesus, that is, for others”.

The invitation to come to the table of the Lord, as Wesley claimed, is a ‘converting ordinance’. In other words it is a table of change, of transformation and renewal. The Taizé community when they share the Eucharist will sing

Refrain: 

Eat this bread; drink this cup.

Come to me and never be hungry.

Eat this bread; drink this cup.

Trust in me and you will not thirst.

May we with Wesley’s first appointed preacher Exeter, John Chenick be also able to sing.

Be present at our table, Lord, 

Be here and ev'ry where adored, 

These mercies bless,  and grant that we 

May feast in Paradise with Thee.