Oct 10, 2026 · 6 min · 5 segments
In the Eucharist, in the worship and service of the community of good and bad folks that Jesus invites to the banquet of God's Kingdom, I am offered a foretaste of heaven. How could I do other than…
In fact, would they come to the lips of most Christians? If Jesus had not described the Kingdom of God as a wedding reception, then joy, good humor, and fun need not be marks of the Christian.
If we are signs of the kingdom, then perhaps we should look more like revelers than anything else.
Sure, the world is a place of sin and suffering, but it is also the gateway to the kingdom that Jesus describes as a banquet to which everyone, bad as well as good, is invited.
So must I become grimly determined to be happy since it is my duty as sign of the kingdom? Actually, if I could recognize myself as grimly determined to be happy, the irony might help me develop a spark of humor that could make me a more cheerful believer in God, who made monkeys, kittens, children, and such a ridiculous creature as I.
Perhaps the reason I'm not a reveling Christian is that I do not allow the Lord to show me not only what is in store for me, but what I have already.
Jesus has taught us to pray, "Our Father." If I paid more heed to those words, at the very least, I would start giggling in embarrassment.
All it takes is a piece of bread and a sip of wine to put me in union with Christ's real presence in the world.
Is solemnity the appropriate response to that? Or is a child opening presents on Christmas morning the better model of Eucharistic spirituality? In the Eucharist, in the worship and service of the community of good and bad folks that Jesus invites to the banquet of God's kingdom, I am offered a foretaste of heaven.
How could I do other than rejoice? And what of the joyous gifts God has given me? Friends, family, children on the street, good art, good music, good books, good food.
When I really look at all this, really give thanks for them, I rejoice in God's unbelievable generosity.
Is it any wonder that the source and summit of the Christian life is called Eucharist, thanksgiving? So how can I increase my wonder, my grateful joy in God's love? The first step is probably to open my eyes to the wonders around me and realize that they are all gifts for me from a Father who is madly in love with me.
In fact, would they come to the lips of most Christians? If Jesus had not described the Kingdom of God as a wedding reception, then joy, good humor, and fun need not be marks of the Christian.
If we are signs of the kingdom, then perhaps we should look more like revelers than anything else.
Sure, the world is a place of sin and suffering, but it is also the gateway to the kingdom that Jesus describes as a banquet to which everyone, bad as well as good, is invited.
So must I become grimly determined to be happy since it is my duty as sign of the kingdom? Actually, if I could recognize myself as grimly determined to be happy, the irony might help me develop a spark of humor that could make me a more cheerful believer in God, who made monkeys, kittens, children, and such a ridiculous creature as I.
Perhaps the reason I'm not a reveling Christian is that I do not allow the Lord to show me not only what is in store for me, but what I have already.
Jesus has taught us to pray, "Our Father." If I paid more heed to those words, at the very least, I would start giggling in embarrassment.
All it takes is a piece of bread and a sip of wine to put me in union with Christ's real presence in the world.
Is solemnity the appropriate response to that? Or is a child opening presents on Christmas morning the better model of Eucharistic spirituality? In the Eucharist, in the worship and service of the community of good and bad folks that Jesus invites to the banquet of God's kingdom, I am offered a foretaste of heaven.
How could I do other than rejoice? And what of the joyous gifts God has given me? Friends, family, children on the street, good art, good music, good books, good food.
When I really look at all this, really give thanks for them, I rejoice in God's unbelievable generosity.
Is it any wonder that the source and summit of the Christian life is called Eucharist, thanksgiving? So how can I increase my wonder, my grateful joy in God's love? The first step is probably to open my eyes to the wonders around me and realize that they are all gifts for me from a Father who is madly in love with me.
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