Once again, this devotion will focus on a simple prayer before meals.
Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest and let these gifts to us be blessed. Amen.
Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest...
However you may come, Lord Jesus, be our guest. This is acknowledging that we are already transformed into the followers of Jesus...that we will be people who will welcome the presence of guests. What if Jesus does not come as we would imagine? What if Jesus comes and it is not in the shape of the one we expect? We are saying that Jesus will be "our guest." When we sit at the table with people we would rather exclude, how are we to be with them? As though they are our guests. That is we honor them and hold them dear and in the true spirit of hospitality we engage them as a "thou" so that all at the table will be assured of their place no matter who it is that comes.
I'm sure the expectation in the prayer is that the Lord, Jesus, we know from the resurrection scenes will be with us. But what if the Lord, Jesus, who is outside the expected norms of the faith comes to eat with us? What if the Lord, Jesus, who finds the time to spend with others who we think do not deserve his time, comes to the table? What if the one who is ridiculed and push away and spoken of as one who tears down the fabric of our society comes to the table? Well, this one does and will come - that is the promise. So, when we call the Christ "our guest" it is as though we are inviting the world - quite like how we are guests at the Lord's Table. Could it be that we pray that the tables at which we sit will be as joyous and open and welcoming as that banquet to which we are invited each Sunday?
Connection: Let's make a fuss over the people in our lives today. Imagine seeing in the lives of those around us the Lord, Jesus, who is coming to dine with us. Be ready for who that will be!
Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest and let these gifts to us be blessed. Amen
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