Our Daily Bread
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 1 Corinthians 11:33
In Paul’s words I hear the quiet voice of my mother, who highly valued having the family eat together. Waiting for one another was not our highest priority, but we were able to learn. Paul’s urgent plea to his sisters and brothers, calling them to the high value of gathering for the Lord’s Supper, is a theological jewel.
When we come together for Eucharist, we are doing an exceedingly ordinary, fleshly thing, eating together. And we are doing an unimaginably exalted, spiritual thing, partaking in the very body of Christ. It’s comforting, in a way, that even the earliest Christians could forget that coming together as sisters and brothers in Christ also means treating each other with utmost respect and love. It means putting others’ physical welfare as high priority. How? By letting ourselves be fed and loved by Christ, and out of that wealth, feeding and loving others. By this we proclaim the Lord and become one in the One who so loved the world.
Alleluia!
Mary Marrocco
Originally published September 12, 2022
