We break this bread for those who love God
For those who follow the path of the Buddha
For our sisters and brothers in Islam
For the devotees of Hindu holiness
And for the Jewish people from whom we come
That one day, together, we may celebrate our common humanity.
We break this bread for the great green earth
We call to mind the rivers, the forests, the fields and the flowers
Which we are destroying
That one day the original blessing of God's creation will be restored.
We break this bread for those who have no bread
The starving, the homeless, the prisoners, the refugees
That one day, when justice and peace embrace,
This planet may be a home for all.
We break this bread for the broken parts of ourselves
The wounded child in all of us
For broken relationships
That one day all will be healed in the heart of God.
We break this bread to share in the body of Christ
Though we are many we are one body
Because we all share in one bread. Donald Reeves (b1934)
(A prayer written by Revd Donald Reeves as rector of St James', Piccadilly - used by Paul Oestreicher in Church Times.)
This stretches me, takes me just a bit beyond my normal boundaries of comfort and conformation. Yet the cosmic Christ of Colossians has surely changed and impacted all people, all things for all time. I hope I can be open to the emerging truth of God which we must embrace.
