We are reminded of an incident in the life of the prophet Elijah, which in a deeper sense is repeated in the life of each faithful and persevering communicant.

Elijah’s life had been one long struggle and, as he thought, one long failure, and he had given up in despair.  He trudged a day’s journey into the wilderness and sat down under a broom tree.  He’d had enough and he asked God that he might die.  Weary and at the end of his tether he fell asleep.  But he was awoken by an angel who told him to get up and eat.  And there by him was food and drink: a freshly baked cake and a jar of water.  “Get up and eat”, said the angel, “otherwise the journey will be too much for you”.  And Elijah got up and “ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God” (NRSV, 1 Kings 19:7,8, our emphasis).

And so at the end of the Eucharist we thank God for the supernatural food we have received and we commit ourselves to him and his service as we leave the church on the next stage of our pilgrimage:

Almighty God,
we thank you for feeding us
with the body and blood of your Son Jesus Christ.
Through him we offer you our souls and bodies
to be a living sacrifice.
Send us out
in the power of your Spirit
to live and work
to your praise and glory.
Amen. (1)

Note

Quotation from the Douay-Rheims Bible is available from:
http://drb.scripturetext.com/matthew/11.htm (Accessed 07 July 2012) (Internet).

Reference

1.© The Archbishops' Council of the Church of England (2000) Holy Communion Order One, Prayer after Communion.  Available from:
http://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-worship/worship/texts/principal-services/holy-communion/orderone.aspx (Accessed 07 July 2012) (Internet).