On Sundays, Night Prayer will focus on an element from the day's celebration of Mass. Tonight our prayer rises from Jesus' words in the gospel about finding our rightful place at the table - and serving those who are there...
We read and preach and pray about tables, Lord... in a world where over 800 million people are starving every day... in a world where millions have no home and no table or whose cupboards are empty, whose tables are barren... in a world where others - like me - complain about the food we have in abundance and, on a daily basis, waste good food while others go hungry...
So we need to listen to your word about tables, Lord... about who comes to our tables and who is excluded... about who is served and who does the serving... and about often those who serve are those who have the least to eat...
When I take your gospel as a whole, Lord, it's clear to me that our greatest sin
is neglect of the poor, the homeless, the hungry, the defenseless with no one to plead their cause...
Don't let me pride myself, Lord, for not stealing or killing when the store of food in my kitchen, my overeating and the food I waste - blind me to the millions who are starving to death...
I have a privileged place at the world's table, Lord, where many are denied a seat because of their geography, their color and the politics of food which keep so many hungry while so many of us have much more than we could possibly ever need...
Change my heart, Lord, change the table of my heart, and teach me to give of my bounty until I, too, go without and know what it is to truly hunger for food, for freedom, for life, for you...
When I open my cupboards, Lord, when I sit at my table, when I eat and I drink without worry -- then, open my heart to welcome in, to serve and to feed my brothers and sisters who beg for a share of what I take for granted...
Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake
and watch over me while I sleep
that awake, I might keep watch with you
and asleep rest in your peace...
Amen.
Feed My People by Jonmark Stone
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