Newsletter January 2015

In 2015 I am going to write a series of columns on family faith practices to re-enforce what you may be doing, encourage you to begin doing, or encourage you to return to doing again.

A family sits down to eat dinner.  The final dish is placed on the table.  What’s next?  “Let’s eat”?  “Everybody dig in”?  “Hmmm…that looks good”?  Traditionally, Christians have paused at this point to give thanks to God with a brief prayer.  In recent years it appears that this custom has declined because fewer and fewer families sit down calmly around a table in the dining room for the evening meal on a regular basis.  But “saying grace” is a commendable custom whether a family is gathered around the supper table, a couple is eating at the kitchen counter, or someone is dining alone.  It is good to pause daily and give thanks to God for his wonderful provision.

In later editions of the Small Catechism Martin Luther added a section called “Table Blessings.”  It is printed at the back of most, but not all, copies of Luther’s Small Catechism and in the back of the red hymnal we use, “Evangelical Lutheran Worship.”  Luther did not write anything new in his instructions for families, for what he wrote was what had been used for centuries by Christians in Europe.  Undoubtedly this form of table prayer was used daily in the Augustinian monastery when he was a monk there.  Now he is commending a short form of it for use in ordinary homes across the land.  Here’s the English translation in our hymnal:

The children and the members of the household are to come devoutly to the table, fold their hands, and recite:  “The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord, and you give them their food in due season.  You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living creature.”  Then they are to recite the Lord’s Prayer and the following prayer:  “Lord God, heavenly Father, bless us and these your gifts, which we receive from your bountiful goodness, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.”

The recitation is from Psalm145:15-16.  The prayer is an ancient one which was used across Europe in its Latin form for centuries: “Benedict, Domine, nos et haec dona tua.....”   Luther proposed it be used in German in Germany, English in England, and so on.  It is a simple yet great table prayer, and one that I often use when asked to pray over a meal in public, except that I omit the Lord’s Prayer.  As Lutheran Christians we would do well to follow Luther’s Small Catechism.

Luther also touched on this subject in his explanation of the Lord’s Prayer in the Catechism.  When he came to the petition “Give us this day our daily bread” he explained “God gives daily bread even without our prayer to all people though sinful, but we ask in this prayer that he would help us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanks.”  One of the best ways to remind ourselves of this truth and to receive our daily bread with thanks is to bow our heads, close our eyes, and say a prayer before we take one bite of our meal.

There are many other fine prayers in the rich tradition of saying a table blessing.  In our churches we most often sing or say together: “Be present at our table Lord; be here and everywhere adored; these mercies bless and grant that we may strengthened for thy service be.  Amen.”  There is an alternate ending that says “grant that we may feast in paradise with thee.  Amen.” But the first ending seems most appropriate over daily bread for the strength to do daily tasks.

A popular prayer is “Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest, and let these gifts to us be blest.  Amen.” This both invites Jesus to be present with us (Jesus said, “where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I.”) and acknowledges that this food is a gift from God.  A number of years ago the ELCA World Hunger Appeal suggested this modified form of the prayer, “Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest, and let these gifts to us be blessed.  Blessed be God, who is our Bread; may all the world be clothed and fed.  Amen.”  This reminds us of our obligation to share God’s gifts freely.

There are many other good prayers that can be used before each meal, some of which are very simple for use by families with young children.  But saying a table prayer is not a childish thing to do.  It is a Christian thing to do, and one that I would commend to you.  Every day at least at one meal if not at all three, say a prayer of thanks to God, even if it is over your take-out order of Combo #1 (my favorite) from the McDonald’s drive through.

Pastor Gary Halverson