Prayer at the Table

Here’s a prayer for the celebration of the Lord’s Supper from Bill Loader (see link below).

The Great Prayer of Thanksgiving

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It right to give our thanks and praise.

God, you are before all things;
You are beyond all things;
And in the midst of all things and all peoples 
you have made yourself known.

In Israel’s ancient codes and prophetic oracles,
in stories of women and men,
of communities and nations
seeking identity,
feeling their strength,
and struggling with their weakness 
you have made yourself known.

In Jesus of Nazareth,
in compassion for the outcast,
forgiveness for the fallen,
hope for the poor and hungry;
in his life poured out for others
and broken in rejection and disdain
you have made yourself known.

Therefore we join our praises
with countless men and women before us,
disciples and apostles,
saints and martyrs,
acclaiming your power in goodness
and your might in compassion,
as we say/sing: 

Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest.

We greet the one who comes in your name,
your true light, your true love,
the bread of compassion,
the wine of renewal.

As he broke bread before the brokenness of his death,
as he poured out wine before his blood was poured out on the cross,
as he gave his life in acts of goodness,
as he invited all to the feast of new hope,
so come to us, God of Jesus, in your love.

Come to us, Spirit of our Lord of love,
and let the bread and wine before us
bear your life to our life,
nourish us with his vision of hope,
and unite us in one body of peace. 

Nourish us with your brokenness,
Renew us with your poured out life,
Empower us with your powerlessness,
that we may take root in your risen life
and bear fruit in your world. 

You are our life;
You are our hope;
You are our peace;
And we praise you.

~ part of a longer Eucharistic prayer written by Bill Loader, on William Loader’s Home Page. To see the whole prayer, click here.