An
Inkling
I’ll
never forget the blessing at the family reunion. One of the men began to say grace. And he said grace. And he said grace. Finally, right in the middle of one of his
sentences, a little boy shouted, “Amen!”
And that was the end of that!
All of
us have had some funny “saying grace” experiences. Kids say the darndest things, adults say the
most inane things, and all the while most of us are thinking about what we’re
going to eat first. How can we best “say
grace?”
First
there’s the matter of length. Some
saints love to pray at length. So they
use the table grace to thank God for each family blessing since 1947, work
their way through to Aunt Minnie’s rheumatism, and wind up praying for the
economy. All the while the food is
cooling, the cook is heating, and everyone is longing for that precious word,
“Amen.” How long should the prayer be? Long enough to thank God for the occasion,
the company, the cook, and the food.
When it comes to table grace, less is more.
Then
there’s the matter of occasion. In many
homes grace is occasional, unless the religious kinfolk or the minister are
visiting. You can recognize such homes
because the kids are half way through their meal by the time you sit down, and
are baffled when the red-faced parent asks, “Why are you eating before we
pray?” The Kingdom of God will not be
hindered if we miss a table grace. But
if we truly want to follow the scripture’s encouragement to pray at all times,
this is a simple way to prime the pump.
And besides, those who thank God for the food find it harder to complain
about the food!
Then
there is the matter of what to say. Many
speak some form of “Bless this food to our bodies and us to thy service.” I have never thought that it made much sense
to ask God to bless food that is obviously good already. I generally trust the cook to bless the food,
and so I thank God for providing it.
However, sometimes I have found it necessary to bless the food itself – like
when I’m the cook or when someone serves liver.
We are
richly blessed, and God is worthy of every “thank you” we offer. Saying grace is one good way to do so. Don’t miss your chance.
Let us
pray,
Keith
