Called to sit down and eat

 In the midst of a flow of activity, we have the precious opportunity to sit down with another to share a meal. Over the pandemic, these meals have become more infrequent as we have been called to eat in our own homes away from the people we would have liked to invite. As movement and travel become more possible we can tend to rush from activity to activity in a rush to make up for the lost time. Yet it may be a time to treasure what we have discovered during this time. I believe three things are important sharing time, sharing ourselves, and sharing the stillness.

What I have noticed is that our approach to time is often chronological. We look to measure and allocate time to certain tasks. This is almost making a shopping list of our days where we place more importance on some things rather than others. There can be a sense of collecting experiences and being present to none. However, the pausing to be present to the other is the greatest gift we have to offer. This is more about discovering the way we can be present rather than distracted by many activities. As we gather for Eucharist this is when we cross the threshold in which time seems to stand still and we can encounter God in liminal space. Where we discover what truly speaks to our soul.

In this sharing of ourselves, we discover that we have the ability to give and receive. We are able to notice how we are nourished and what fills us with hope. This is not a magical formula but rather a learned understanding that when we are available to others we discover a deeper communion for ourselves. The disciples discovered this when they called the 5000 to sit down in groups of 50. It was that in their midst they were not just going to be fed but that they truly saw each other. This is why we gather for Eucharist. It is the need to encounter each other as God gathers us together. We are not called to live in splendid isolation but in a deeper communion that sustains us and helps us grow.

Then in the midst of time and space, we are called to grow still. This stillness is where we can become one with God and one with each other. The place where we truly listen from the depth of our hearts. This is a communal act where we recognize that God reaches out to us and sustains us with charity. It helps us to notice those in our community who need to be fed and housed. In an age where people are homeless and hungry, we can seek to be people who sustain others with the basic necessities of life. It calls for a heart for the poor as people like us who also need to be fed and provided a home.

Our Eucharistic life is not just a private act reserved for Sundays but a way of life that seeks to proclaim the Good News to our world. By gathering together we become one with Christ and one with each other. This incarnate way of living is not about what we consume but how our lives are consummated by the sacrament we receive. We receive Christ so that we become one with him to live his life for others not just for ourselves.