52 Weeks at the Table – Week 48

Out of recognition of sin, of guilt, and of penitence, a church was born of the born again by water and the blood (1 John 5:5-9; John 19:34). And immediately, these believers set about living the life that was given for them on the cross, the life that was taken up again – to be theirs forever. They took Jesus at His word to look after the poor and to share. They praised God and were a blessing to all around them. They gathered as a family to pray each day, and to break bread together.

This was the new body of Jesus in the world. It was healthy and strong and powerful, imbued with His Spirit, and willing to do His work. It was vital and it grew, every day, with the addition of those being saved. They were saved for this purpose: to live His life, tell His story and grow by doing so. To grow more and more like Him, they broke the bread as He had broken it … gave thanks for it, as He had given thanks … and shared it with those who hungered for it. At the table, all these centuries later, His body the church is called to do the same.

A Prayer Over the Bread

Father in heaven, we give You glory for the truth about You signified in this bread: Your presence among us in human form, the body of Your Son, given by You and taken by us. As His living body in this world, we thank you for strength it brings us to repeat that truth to all who will listen, and the opportunity to live His life and consume this bread. Amen.

A Prayer Over the Cup

It is by this blood that we are able to join Your family, our Father, and our sharing of it through this cup testifies to our faith in Your ability and willingness to give us life through the given life of Jesus, the Christ. May we always recognize Him in this cup, and in each other – and the need for Him in those who do not yet recognize Him. We pray this through Jesus: Amen.