A reflective prayer from my book Touching the Seasons, in which a glass of wine leads on to remembering the events of the Last Supper.
The glass of wine
‘Red or white?’ he asked,
and after I’d made my choice, he poured it out,
a glass of wine to accompany my meal
and make a toast –
one of life’s little luxuries
that I’d come to take for granted.
I recalled another cup,
another ‘toast’:
Jesus serving his disciples with the words:
‘My blood,
poured out for you and for many,
for the forgiveness of sins.’
A cup not of pleasure but of pain,
drunk not for himself but for others,
representing the greatest of gifts,
precious beyond words.
Whenever I drink, Lord,
remind me of the true vine
and the new wine you offer through it.
Amen.