Prayers Based on Matthew 22:1-14
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet
Prayer: Come to the Feast
In the midst of all you are facing
Your labor
Your responsibilities
Your hustle
Hear the invitation
“Come to the Feast!”
In the midst of all you are facing
Your burdens
Your shadows
Your shame
Hear the invitation
“Come to the Feast!”
In the midst of all you are facing
Your longing
Your suffering
Your distractions
Hear the invitation
“Come to the Feast!”
Come, eat and drink
Come, dress up and dance
Come, rejoice in the King’s delight
Your presence
Your “Yes!” to Sacred, Lifelong, Union
Listen…
Listen……
Grace is calling
Come, the feast awaits
Prayer Poem/Hymn Text: Come, Sup with God
Meter 88.88 (LM)
Suggested tunes:
HURSLEY (United Methodist Hymnal #339) or
GIFT OF LOVE (United Methodist Hymnal #408)
*I’d be very interested in working with a composer to set this to music
Come, sup with God all you who thirst
All you who hunger be the first
Feast on Christ’s Body and his Blood
O taste and see this meal of Love
Come, children, elders, blind, and spent
Come, foolish, able, indigent
Confess, repent, and then receive
Forgiveness flows abundantly
Come often, friend, for here is grace
made manifest in time and place
Christ’s mercy floods our brokenness
with healing balm and righteousness
Come to be changed. Come to be fed.
Come savor Christ, the Life, the Bread.
Drink deep the gift of healing poured
and leave a vessel of our Lord.
Sing Praise to Christ our Host and meal
Whose saving work provides the seal
for us once bound, now freed from death
to live for Christ with every breath
______________
For the next few months, I’ll be posting prayers to accompany Bishop Ken Carter’s Bible Study on Facebook. Each week, Bishop Carter will bring in a guest to speak about the passage. We’ll be walking through the last chapters of the Gospel of Matthew.
You’re most welcome to read along and to join this Facebook discussion group. You don’t need to be a Methodist or attend a Methodist church. All are welcome and all means all.
May the grace of God’s word, the challenge, and the call, inspire us to great faith and great good works in Jesus’ name. – Lisa <
Come to the Feast © 2020 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia
Come, Sup with God © 2000 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia
You are welcome to use this work in a worship setting with proper attribution.
Please leave a comment for information and permission to publish this work in any form.
Revlisad.com 
I love old hymns, but doesn’t this have already have a melody? Of course composing a more modern version does sometimes help. Blessings. Let me know
Hi Pete! Thanks for your comment. I wrote the text so it would fit a metrical pattern. There are hymns tunes already in existence that fit the pattern, as suggested. I wanted to leave the door open for someone to write a new tune for a congregation or choir. The door is wide with opportunities and options.
I’ll take a look next week. Hymns are my first love.
Okay I’ve taken a look at trying the melody from Our Great Savior (Jesus What a Friend For Sinners). I love the tune for this because it is easy to sing for the whole congregation (Not just the sopranos in the choir). It will work if you pace it just so by occasionally bridging the notes into your next line to make it flow. (Ten syllables per line). I like especially the way “forgiveness flows abundantly” matches perfectly with the melody on the final line of the chorus (He is with me till the end). Give it a try and see if that doesn’t work for you. Have a blessed week.
Pete
What a great suggestion. I love this hymn tune.
Hope that works for you. It does take a bit of practice with the pacing.