When we are invited to a house for a meal, would we just barge in, go straight to the dining table and begin eating? Of course not! There is a certain decorum and good manners we follow, since the host has taken so much trouble to invite us and prepare us a meal. When the time comes for the meal to be enjoyed, we would also not just simply seat at the dining table, but wait politely for the host to seat us according to his or her preference, and wait till everyone is present and ready, and then wait until we are invited to begin eating. Surely we are not barbarians or so uncivilised as to embarrass the host with disgusting and unbecoming table manners.
In the same way, when we come for Mass to the Table of the Lord, there is a certain decorum, protocol and table manners to follow. In today’s reading, St. Paul reminds us of such decorum, protocol and table manners: “The point is, when you hold these meetings, it is not the Lord’s Supper that you are eating, since when the time comes to eat, everyone is in such a hurry to start his own supper that one person goes hungry while another is getting drunk. Surely you have homes for eating and drinking in? Surely you have enough respect for the community of God not to make poor people embarrassed?… So to sum up, my dear brothers, when you meet for the Meal, wait for one another.”
What St. Paul reminds us in the reading is still applicable even today. When we come for Mass to the Table of the Lord, we are coming for a banquet with the Lord. Unfortunately, we sometimes see some people appearing to be so famished or lack control, that they have to eat something else while Mass is going on; or they even allow their children to eat something during Mass. Surely we can train ourselves and our children to be patient and wait; and then later eat and drink as we like after Mass. Have we forgotten that we are in the presence of God, and that we should learn to wait till the proper time comes for us as a community to partake in the Lord’s meal? Do we not respect and value the Lord’s meal, and wait till the Mass is over?