Jesus Takes whatever We Bring

The writer, Lauren Winner, relates that in the middle ages, a female mystic named Mechthild wrote about a vision she had. In the vision, Jesus asks her to place in his left hand all her “pains and adversities” so they may be sweetened by union with him – just as a crumb of bread dipped in honey takes on honey’s fragrance. 

This is a reverse image of communion. Usually, at Communion, we draw near to Christ by opening our hands to receive the bread and cup… In Mechthild’s vision, we draw near to Christ and find Christ’s hand opened to us. 

I think there is something to that. 

John tells us at the end of his gospel, that Jesus after being raised from the dead, met his disciples on the beach. He took some bread, and he invited the disciples to bring the fish they just caught. Even though he had his own fish that was already searing on the grill, he invited them to bring their own fish as well. He takes whatever we bring to the table. This is true whether it is a table at church or a table on the beach or a table at home.

Jesus took the bread. And he blessed it. And he gave it to them…

Christ is the giver of all good gifts: the gift of our family and friends, the food we eat, the bread we break, the air we breathe, and the hands we hold around a table….

Jesus takes whatever we bring to the table. He gathers up our adversity and pain, the joy and the sorrows, the laughter and the tears… And he blesses it. He is with us in the breaking and in the brokenness. And he gives back of himself…

May you come to see the table as a kind of altar. And may you remember that time spent around it alone, or with family and friends, is time spent in the presence of Christ. May you offer him, all that happens around your tables, trusting that in that offering, there is blessing and grace… 

Let us pray as we prayed yesterday: Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest. Be our guest, in our homes and churches, around our tables, and in our everyday lives. And open our eyes to your presence, even here, even now. Amen.