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A friend of mine set out a bird feeder in her backyard. Shortly thereafter her young, very excited daughter called her to the window, pointed at the feeder and exclaimed, “Look, we have our first customers.” Originally amused by this anecdote, I later found myself wondering how I come to the Eucharist. Do I come only to feed? Only as a consumer? Or does the experience of being fed at the Lord’s Table change me in any significant way?
I don’t think that it is only the bread and wine that are meant to be transformed at mass. I believe our lives are offered up on the paten and in the chalice along with “the fruit of the field and the work of human hands.” The words of consecration are said over us. When we receive that the elements of communion, we too are identified as “the Body of Christ.” There is a line from the Book of Common Prayer that I very much like: “Deliver us from the presumption of coming to the Table for solace alone, and not for strength.” Eucharist is meant to give us the strength that will be needed if you and I are to live with the same compassion that Jesus showed others.
Back to those birds at the feeder. I don’t think they have a consciousness like ours, that they are as aware of their calling to spread what they freely and graciously receive at that feeder. Yet, in their own way, they do spread what they receive; they do engender new life; they do contribute to the beauty of the world. May we, in the ways given to us, spread the grace that we receive when we are fed at the Table of the Lord.