One Table: Eucharistic Living

Eucharistic Living

If our presence at the One Table does not change us, then we're doing it wrong. In sharing the Eucharist, we become what we eat. In following Jesus, we are called to:

fully surrender our lives to God
gather in community
receive from others, rejecting self-sufficiency
sacrifice for others, sharing what we have

We are called to do these things both within our church community and outside our church community, in the world.

Loaves & Fishes

Letting Go, Gathering Together,
and Receiving

The Loaves and Fishes stories are so important that they appear in all four gospels, and twice in Mark and Matthew! Six times in four gospels. Why is this story so important? What’s the big deal?

The disciples say, Tell the people to go into town so they can buy their own dinner. Everyone can take care of themselves.

But Jesus does not work in a market economy. In a market economy: we take care of ourselves, we save up out of fear that there won’t be enough, we protect what we have from others. Jesus offers an economy of grace: God provides enough for everyone, we take care of each other, and we all share at One Table. There wasn’t a physical table out in the wilderness, but Jesus replaces all the separate tables in town with one meal, shared together.

So Jesus tells the disciples to "Give them some food yourselves." Is Jesus just telling us here to give away more to the poor? We talk about giving food through the St. Vincent de Paul Society, and all the other ways you can give to the poor. That’s a great start. But One Table is something different....

We Are One Body

As bread that was scattered on the hillside,
was gathered together and made one,
so too, we, your people,
scattered throughout the world,
are gathered together around your table
and become one.

As grapes grown in the field
are gathered together and pressed into wine,
so too are we drawn together
and pressed by our times to share a common lot
and are transformed into your life-blood for all.

So let us prepare to eat and drink
as Jesus taught us:
inviting the stranger to our table
and welcoming the poor.
May their absence serve to remind us
of the divisions this Eucharist seeks to heal.
And may their presence help transform us
into the Body of Christ we share.

Janet Schaffran and Pat Kozak, More Then Words
Adapted from the Didache, ca. 110

The initiative in encounter belongs to the Lord.
But if we open the door of our being to him,
we shall share his life, his supper.

Gustavo Gutiérrez

The Eucharist is essential for us: it is Christ who wishes to enter our lives and fill us with his grace.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) February 28, 2014

A second meaning of "Do this in memory of me" is thus "Gather up all of your fleshly memories of table--of food and fun, tears and laughter, mellowness and mirth--for they have become your own body. Your body is both at the table and on the table. You are looking at what you have become.

Nathan D. Mitchell

You are there on the table; you are there in the chalice. You are this body with us, for, collectively, we are this body. We drink of the same chalice because we live the same life.

Augustine of Hippo, 4th Century

Here's To the Day

This is one of the most beautiful and poignant songs about Eucharist ever written. Take a listen here:

Here is live video version, although the quality isn't the best:

From the recording (which is all great!):
Any Starlight Night by Billy Crockett.

Pieces of life laid on the table
Here is the blood poured out in love
Fill this cup, raise it up
Here’s to the day, my friend.

Time draws a line down innocent faces
Years mark the dreams that fail to come home
So you say goodbye, say goodnight
and here’s to the day - remember.

Can you say it for the ones whose voices are silenced?
Can you say it for the ones who’ve never been free?
Can you pray for peace, ache for peace?
Here’s to the day that’s coming
God speed the day…

Gather in close now, cling to each other
Sing to the night, you don’t sing alone.
And fill this cup, raise it up.
Here’s to the day - remember.

”Here’s to the Day,”
Milton Brasher-Cunningham and Billy Crockett
(c) 1990 Radar Days Music / ASCAP

Living One Table

During this series, we have explored different ways we can live as Eucharistic people and invite everyone to the One Table. If you missed any of these previous weeks, go back and take a look:

How to Have Supper

Shared meals were an essential part of Jesus' ministry, and the basis for our sacrament of the Eucharist. As Christians following Jesus' example, we gather together at One Table.

But many of us have lost the art of the shared meal. We eat together less frequently and spend less time doing so. Why was supper so important to Jesus, and how can we reclaim it as Christians?

More >>

Radical Inclusivity

Jesus was willing to share a meal with anyone, no matter how different. In fact, he reached out to those who were different: the outcasts, all kinds of sinners, the rich and poor, friends and strangers. Jesus' tablemates didn't have to earn their place, reform themselves, or pass some test. They just had to show up.

Today, as we follow Jesus in our own lives, we are invited to One Table: Jesus' table. And we are invited to share it with everyone, as Jesus did. This is a challenge both within our church community and in our everyday lives.

More >>

Building Community

Christians are called to build community by welcoming others into our Church, but we are also called to build community and promote the common good within our neighborhoods, cities, and the larger world.

A culture of individualism can make us isolated individuals who focus only on our own interests, but we are all social creatures who must love our neighbors and share a vision of how true community can transform the world.

More >>

Action Steps

Here are some ideas for how you can live out this message in your life this week.

Question of the Week

How would it look like for your life to become more Eucharistic?

Take Action This Week

Take one of the action steps suggested at the end of the Loaves & Fishes article (click through the link). Which of the three challenges do you most struggle with in your life?
Pray about what One Table and the Eucharist mean to you, your relationship with Jesus, and the way you live.
Read pages from previous weeks you did not yet see (see the "Living One Table" section above).
Review what action steps you have taken so far during this series. Are there any that you want to commit to doing on a regular basis?