In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
I Thessalonians 5:18 (KJV)
The poem, titled “The Contemporary Sin of Ungrateful Feasts: Forgetting to Give Thanks Before a Meal,” laments the modern neglect of giving thanks before meals, portraying it as a spiritual failing. It contrasts the abundance on dinner tables with the absence of gratitude, attributing all sustenance to Jesus Christ’s divine provision. The poem critiques the rushed, distracted nature of contemporary life, where people eat without acknowledging the sacred source of their food. It recalls Christ’s example of blessing bread and wine, urging readers to pause and offer humble thanks, recognizing each meal as a gift of His enduring love and grace.
Rarely now, the table falls silent,
No murmured grace, no hearts compliant.
Plates brim with bounty, yet none confess,
The sacred source of all we possess.
In this rushed age, we scorn the pause,
And spurn the Giver of life’s great cause.
From Jesus Christ, all blessings flow,
His hand sustains the seeds that grow.
Through sun and soil, through rain’s soft call,
His love transforms the meekest thrall.
Each loaf, each fruit, a testament,
To grace divine, so freely sent.
Yet modern haste blinds eyes to see,
The holy thread in what we eat.
Forks rise, unblessed, in thoughtless greed,
As if no Savior meets our need.
This is our sin, this callous slight,
To feast in dark, ignoring light.
Was not His body broken, shared,
To teach us how to love, to care?
Did He not bless the bread, the wine,
And bid us dwell in grace divine?
Each meal a chance to echo Him,
To sing His praise, to quell the dim.
But screens now glow where prayers once bloomed,
And gratitude lies half-entombed.
We gorge, distracted, numb, and proud,
Forgetting Him who feeds the crowd.
This thankless heart, this hurried sin,
Shuts out the Christ who dwells within.
Oh, let us halt, let souls awake,
And honor Him for all we take.
Before the bite, a moment spare,
To lift our thanks in humble prayer.
For every morsel, Christ’s love reigns,
His boundless grace forever sustains.
Passionately Pursuing Christ 