Page 5 - Visions - Program Preview

for dinner?” Everyone makes
we are all in the crowded
room for another chair at the kitchen, helping with the
table. Daniel sits down to a cooking. Squeezed between
steaming plate of chicken
the kitchen counter and Robin,
and sweet potatoes.
Sheryl asks, “What is Kenyan
cooking like, Maureen?”
“How was work?” Robin asks. “Any sales?”
Maureen smiles. “We love to
use spices like garam masala and
Between bites, Daniel talks cumin.”
about his job as a salesman at a furniture store.
“How is your play going,
Barb?” Robin asks.
When people have finished Everyone joins in the
the second course and the conversation. There is a feeling
centers of the yellow plates are of closeness that isn’t just the
visible again, I clear the table. As physical space. By the time
I set the dirty plates down on the the pasta is ready, the
kitchen counter, I hear Mom house is filled with
asking, “Who wants coffee voices flowing
How is your
with dessert?” Everyone but together—
golf game
Daniel wants coffee.
the sound of
these days?
a successful
“How is your golf Sunday night.
these days?” Dad asks Bev.
We go into the dining
room and sit down. Before
“Great,” Bev
we start to eat, we all hold
answers. “Do you play, Greg?” she hands. Mom begins, “Dear God,
thank you for the gift of all of
asks.
us being here together, and for
“Not much since high school,” this delicious food, and for Greg
Greg says.
and Sheryl’s company.” With
Mom sets coffee cups on
a chorus of Amens, the feast
the table, and Bev goes to the begins.
kitchen to get the homemade strawberry-rhubarb pies she When everyone finishes
brought.
their pasta, I quickly clear
“How big a piece do you
the plates. Mom goes to
want, Luke?” Bev asks me, as she begins to slice.
the kitchen to get the roast
chicken. I hold the swinging
“Pretty big,” I say with a grin. door back into the dining room
Dessert doesn’t take long—it is that good—but the night is
as Mom walks through and
far from over. Dad slides back sets the chickens on the table.
As the candles flicker and the
his chair to get his poetry book from a side table. “Did everyone chatter of the company around
remember to bring a poem to me continues to fill the room
with warmth, I sit back in my
read?” he asks.
Bev groans. “I hoped you chair. Barb carves a chicken.
Before we have a chance to get
were joking,” she says but
back into the meal, the front
Who wants coffee
with dessert?
pulls a folded piece of paper from her pocket. We all take turns reading, laughing, and commenting on each poem until the evening ends and everyone goes home.
I sometimes wonder why my parents invite friends to join us for dinner every Sunday night. I usually have homework, and sometimes I just want to hang out in my room watching videos or texting friends. But then as I feel the warmth of their presence around the table, the answer comes to me. Sharing a meal creates a connection.
Sunday dinner is a ritual,
and through it I realize how important the small gifts of
life are. It isn’t about the roast chicken or the strawberry- rhubarb pie, but more about the people gathered around the table. When we sit down to that meal and join in conversation, the only thing that separates us is a few inches on either side of our chairs.
“” TALk A k TL
1 Why do Luke’s parents like company?
2 How does the family benefit from having many different guests?
3 What helps people feel more like family than guests?
4 If you could share a meal with anyone, who would you invite? What would you talk about?
door swings open and in steps another guest.
“Hello, everyone,” says my older brother Daniel, who has just gotten off work. “What’s
I hoped you were joking.
Bayard supports Pope Francis’s call to care for our common home. Please share your copy of VISIONS with a friend or recycle it properly. Thank you.
Lesson 4 Visions • 3