A Grace Before The Christmas Meal

Bless, Oh Lord, this food -

The feast is ready:
All manner of food is prepared
To tempt the eye
And please the senses -
A steaming roast turkey;
Variety of vegetables;
Diverse pies, cookies, candies,
Nuts, and jellies.
(Or other foods,
Each according to his family custom.)

And atmosphere:
Full of merriment,
Gay,
Friendly;
A fitting scene for a great feast.

A feast:
A commemoration
(So Webster says)
Of some event or person
Of some significance.

And this feast is
A commemoration of -
A thanksgiving for -
The birth -
Whose birth
That after near two thousand years
We still commemorate,
Celebrate,
Give thanks for -
Of Jesus,
Child of simple parents,
Poor,
Of no import,
And yet -
The gift
Of God Almighty:
Promised a-long
For the world's salvation.
Of this import -
This the event
To commemorate -
For this the feast.



Otherwise we mark the day:
By gifts
To fill the needs
(As He fills ours)
And please the desires of
The recipient.
We dress and light a tree
To glitter and shine
As the stars of heaven:
A new light -
As different from the rest;
As to this day apart.
We send our greeting,
And welcome to our house
Such as will come;
Forget our isolation
And commune,
Rejoice,
With all mankind.

For Christ is born:
The gift of God
To all mankind -
The greatest gift
Ever.

If our feast,
The food before us,
Is to feed the body
As His gift
Feeds our souls;

If our merriment and joy
Is token
Of His reception in our hearts;

If our gifts
Are only to reflect
His gift to us;

If our tree
With lights and glitter
Is just to show
The symbol of
The Light
Come into the world;

If our greeting
And friendliness
Is but to show
His coming
For all mankind;

If all these things
Are the reason,
The cause for our celebration,
Then we are ready
To eat the feast
To his eternal honor and glory;

Then bless, Oh lord, this food.

Amen.

Dec 1969