on the walk

Well I am embarrassed. I missed one of Jesus prayers.

This morning I was reading in Mark looking for prayers and I noticed that he “gives thanks” for the bread and “blesses” the fish as he prepares to feed the 4000. That prompted me to look back and of course he did the same thing when he blessed the food at the feeding of the 5000. So today we will talk about both.

I am interested in how Jesus’ practice of praying before meals (usually called blessing the food and sometimes cal giving thanks) connects with Jewish practice of the day. I may have to look that up. If anyone knows, why don’t you leave a comment.

Without that knowledge I find myself thinking about two things.

The first is some sage advice which my friend and co-worker Eric Olson once gave at a lunch meeting. (I love lunch meetings.) As we began to pray he gave this advice, “And remember, lunch is not time to be catching up on your prayer life.” {For the record he has no memory of this and may deny having said it.} He is right. I have often, when I have forsaken prayer in my life, found myself wanting to somehow reconnect with God while staring at a plate of food. I suppose there is nothing wrong with that, but it shouldn’t end there.

The second thing I think is that praying before a meal is an especially fitting time to pray. As we prepare to eat we are clearly aware that we are not autonomous beings. I read sci-fi and a regular feature of these novels is a power source that can infinitely sustain a robot or some other sentient creature. These beings need nothing outside themselves to exist. Well, I know some people who live like that too. But even for them, throughout the day, they hunger and thirst – they face their own frailty. To thank God in this moment – that God’s creation has provided the means to sustain life another day – is entirely fitting.

on the walk

-Ethan

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