"In the presence of my enemies ..."

(Please read Psalm 23)

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

It was when you asked me to help,
O God, that I truly understood ...
or at least understood
in the way that you asked me
to understand.

You handed a chalice to me
from the table you prepared
and whispered, "For all."
I gulped. "Oh God... really?
For all?"

You whispered again,
"Look into their eyes,
offer to them what I have prepared,
Some might be your enemies,
but none are mine."

And so I stood,
at the end of an aisle,
with chalice in hand
and wept at the thoughts
of my enemies welcomed
in such a generous way.

The table was not mine,
the guest list certainly wasn't mine
and the chalice never ran dry ...
nor did the grace and mercy.

Once again, I heard,
"Do this in remembrance ...
and remember,
these are not my enemies."

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies,
and then you say "All sit ... together."
And still the chalice never runs dry
for those around the table -
      not even for me.