Recently I received a cookbook by Sam Sifton, the food editor of the New York Times, called  See You on Sunday. The cookbook is dedicated to the simple act of gathering around a table with loved ones and eating together on a regular enough basis that people know and can depend on the meal happening. Sifton talks about how the fellowship at the table creates “life satisfaction,” a term social scientists use to capture a person’s overall happiness and well-being. In Sifton’s words, "This satisfaction doesn't come from the first meal, or the fifth or the twentieth, but from the actual effort itself, from the accrual of experience in cooking the meal and sharing it.” 

The beating heart of our faith is the sacrament of the Eucharist, a chance to eat and drink at God’s table. In doing this we are fortified by the divine substance of God’s love, especially when we partake on a regular basis. Today’s Gospel is a reminder, much like my cookbook, of the power of participating in the feast God has set forth for us. Jesus is our spiritual food and all of us are welcome at the table. And the more we partake in the nourishment that God’s grace and love provides the more satisfied we will become.