Let Us Go Now to the Banquet, ELW 523
Devotion
Let us go now to the banquet,
to the feast of the universe.
The table's set and a place is waiting;
come, ev'ryone, with your gifts to share.
I will rise in the early morning;
the community's waiting for me.
With a spring in my step I'm walking
with my friends and my family. Refrain
God invites all the poor and hungry
to the banquet of justice and good
where the harvest will not be hoarded
so that no one will lack for food. Refrain
May we build such a place among us
where all people are equal in love.
God has called us to work together
and to share ev'rything we have. Refrain
SPANISH
Estribillo
Vamos todos al banquete,
a la mesa de la creación;
cada cual con su taburete
tiene un puesto y una misión.
Hoy me levanto muy temprano;
ya me espera la comunidad;
voy subiendo alegre la cuesta,
voy en busca de tu amistad. Estribillo
Dios invita a todos los pobres
a esta mesa comśn por la fe,
donde no hay acaparadores
y a nadie le falta el conqué. Estribillo
Dios nos manda a hacer de este mundo
una mesa donde haya igualdad,
trabajando y luchando juntos,
compartiendo la propiedad. Estribillo
Since many congregations celebrate the Eucharist on the first weekend of the month, encourage your pastor and/or church musician to use this hymn sometime. It's festive and filled with hope about a table where all are not only welcomed, but intentionally invited to share in the feast of the lamb. It is the "feast of the universe," a table where all have "gifts to share." In this early part of the season after Pentecost, this hymn celebrates the diversity we're called to embody as Christians the world over. The Spanish words to this hymn come first, because it was written by a Spanish-speaking person. This doesn't mean that English speakers should gloss over those words if they aren't bilingual. Find someone in your congregation who, if not fluent, can remember the basics from Spanish in high school. Have them teach the congregation how to pronounce the words and join in the cacophony of voices that come to the Lord's banquet!
Prayer
God of the Universe, we give you thanks for the banquet feast in Christ that has no end. Open our hearts and our tables to all your children, where all are equal in love. Amen.