The word grace has the same roots as the word grateful. So saying Grace is about giving thanks, specifically thanks to God, the Creator of the Universe.
But grace also refers to something that is not earned, not deserved, a gift freely given.
So when we say Grace before a meal we are remembering that what we have before us is something that is a gift and a blessing. And even if we, or our parents, have worked to grow and harvest the food or to earn the money to buy it, it is still a gift from God.
I have food on my table but others do not. hey may have worked just as hard as I have, but do not receive a living wage, or live in a country where there is not easy access to food, or have lost their job or a thousand other reasons that have led to there being no food on their table. Just because I have food doesn’t mean that I am more deserving of food, that I have done more to earn the right to have food. In fact, I may have done little compared to others who are struggling daily for just a handful of rice.
I worked in Jamaica one summer and soon became accustomed to walking into grocery stores which had almost nothing on their shelves. If I found one loaf of bread, I was lucky. When I returned to Canada and walked into one of our big grocery stores here, I was absolutely overwhelmed by the amount of food and the abundance of choices we had. Not one loaf of one kind of bread, but a hundred varieties with umpteen loaves of each kind. I walked out without buying anything that day. How could I have so much when others had nothing?
I found that I could not say Grace when I first returned from Jamaica. How could I thank God for my food, as if somehow I had done something to deserve it, when I knew that others just as deserving had nothing? I stopped saying Grace, but then I realized that was worse. I was taking my food for granted.
So I started saying Grace again, remembering that I was not entitled to the food I had before me. I said Grace thinking of those who had no food. I said Grace as a reminder of my responsibility to share my food and wealth with others.
Saying Grace is a faith practice that is essential to rooting us in the presence of God and reminding us of the blessings of God. As we say Grace, we are filled with gratitude that what we have is a gift that comes from many hands. We are reminded that we are not entitled to this food, but privileged to have it. And we are reminded that, as followers of Jesus, we are to share our food, generously, freely, lovingly.
Whether you are in a restaurant or at your own table, sitting alone or with others, I invite you to take a moment for saying Grace before each meal. If a long grace isn’t right for the moment, then grab hands around the table, pump them and say a big, “Thankyou, God!” Or if you are with others who do not say Grace (but might they if you suggest it?), then bow your head for a moment and think your own grace. Below are a variety of graces, spoken and sung, traditional and new, to use before your meals.
And one more thing, when we say, “Amen” at the end, what we are saying is “Yes,” “Right on,” “Absolutely,” or “We agree.” So even if one person offers the words of the Grace, everyone should join in the Amen to say Yes to what the person has prayed.
So say Grace! and then enjoy the gift of your meal, blessed by God.
Graces to Bless Your Meal
Thank you, God, for being so good to us,
and bless this food. Amen. S. Lukey
Bless, O Lord, this food to our use
and us to thy service,
and keep us ever mindful of the needs of others.
In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. traditional
For this food and all we are about to receive,
Lord, make us truly thankful. Amen. traditional
Thank you for the food we eat,
Thank you for the friends we meet.
Thank you for the birds that sing.
Thank you, God, for everything! Amen. traditional
Loving God, with grateful hearts, we thank you
for this meal and for the time we spend sharing it together.
May this food nourish our bodies
as your loving presence nourishes our souls. Amen. S. Lukey
For all your goodness, God, we give you thanks.
Thanks for the food we eat, and for the friends we meet,
for each new day we greet, we give you thanks. Amen. traditional (music in Voices United #549)
For good food and those who prepare it,
for good friends with whom to share it,
we thank you, Lord. Amen. author unknown
(can be sung. Music in Voices United #551)
For food in a world where many walk in hunger;
For faith in a world where many walk in fear; For friends in a world where many walk alone; We give you thanks, O Lord. translated from the German of Manfred Wester
(to the tune of Superman overture)
Thank you, God, for giving us food. (arm up and out to right as if flying)
Thank you, God, for giving us food. (arm up and out to left as if flying)
For the food that we eat (both arms up and out to right as if flying)
and the friends that we meet. (both arms up and out to left as if flying)
Thank you, God, for giving us food. (arm up and out to right as if flying)
Amen. (sung very firmly& solidly, standing with hands in fists on hips)
Johnny Appleseed Grace (share the story of Johnny Appleseed so everyone understands the words)
Oh, the Lord is good to me,
and so I thank the Lord,
for giving me the things I need,
the sun and the rain and the apple seed.
The Lord is good to me.
And every seed I sow
will grow into a tree.
And someday there’ll be apples there
for everyone in the world to share.
The Lord is good to me. traditional
(tune: Frere Jacques)
God, Creator. God, Creator.
Once again. once again.
We would ask your blessing.
We would ask your blessing.
Amen. Amen. traditional
God bless this food We are about to receive. Give bread to those who are hungry. And hunger for mercy and justice To those of us who have food. Amen. author unknown
Dear Lord, bless this bunch As we munch on our lunch. Amen. author unknown
Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest May this food by you be blessed. Amen. author unknown
Bless the food before us The family beside us And the love between us Amen. author unknown
These two are from the Celtic tradition,
recorded in the Carmina Gadelica, collected by Alexander Carmichael in the late 1800's
Give us, O God, of the nourishing meal,
well-being to the body, the frame of the soul.
Give us, O God, of the honey-sweet milk, the sap and the savor of the fragrant farms. Amen.
God in our waking, God in our speaking; God in our cooking, God in our eating; God in our playing, God in our digesting; God in our working, God in our resting. Amen.
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