May 3, 2026
SIT AND EAT
MACK WILBERG AND RYAN MURPHY
Conductors
RICHARD ELLIOTT
Organist
DERRICK PORTER
The Spoken Word
GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS
Music: William M. Runyan
Text: Thomas O. Chisholm
Arrangement: Ryan Murphy
IF THE SAVIOR STOOD BESIDE ME
Music and Text: Sally DeFord
Arrangement: Sam Cardon
SING PRAISE TO HIM (ORGAN SOLO)
Music: from Bohemian Brethren’s Songbook
Arrangement: Richard Elliott
AWAKE AND ARISE, ALL YE CHILDREN OF LIGHT
Music: Welsh tune (The Ash Grove)
Text: David Warner
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg
MAY WE BE MORE LIKE THEE
Music: Mack Wilberg
Text: Lloyd Newell
THE SPOKEN WORD
“Sit and Eat”
THINK A SACRED SONG
Music and Text: Marlene Summers Merkling
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg
LET THE LIGHT OF CHRIST WITHIN ME
Music: Mack Wilberg
Text: David Warner
SIT AND EAT
The Spoken Word, May 3, 2026
By: Derrick Porter
NEARLY 400 YEARS AGO, English clergyman George Herbert wrote a poem titled “Love,” which reads:
Love bade me welcome; yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-eyed Love, observing me grew slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning
If I lacked anything.
“A guest,” I answered, “worthy to be here.”
Love said, “You shall be he.”
“I, the unkind, ungrateful? Ah, my dear,
I cannot look on thee.”
Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,
“Who made the eyes but I?”
“Truth, Lord; but I have married them; let my shame
Go where it doth deserve.”
“And know you not,” says Love, “who bore the blame?”
“My dear, then I will serve.”
“You must sit down,” says Love, “and taste my meat.”
So I did sit and eat.1
As we navigate the complexities of life, there may be times when we feel unworthy to sit and dine with God’s great gift of love. But as God’s children, we are never too unworthy to approach Him and partake of His gracious love.2 As C. S. Lewis once observed, it’s often in those moments “when we notice the dirt that God is most present in us.”3
A man I know received an invitation to attend a worship service. He accepted, though he felt awkward, having not regularly attended in many years. He arrived on time but, feeling out of place, couldn’t bring himself to go inside. Anxiety and doubt began to build, and so he chose not to enter. Instead, he walked the grounds, circling the building.
Eventually, he found himself at the entrance once again. Looking through the chapel doors, he noticed an open seat. With all the courage he could gather, he walked in and sat down. A hymn began to play—one he recognized. As the music continued, he felt known to God. The last time he had heard this hymn was at his younger sister’s funeral years earlier. He felt an immediate connection to her—and to heaven. He smiled and settled into the love that enveloped his heart.
God’s love always—always—bids each of us welcome. And when we feel least worthy to enter, that may be the very moment He is inviting us to sit—and eat.
- George Herbert, “Love (III)” (1633), poets.org/poem/love-iii.
- See “God’s Gracious Love,” Hymns—For Home and Church, Gospel Library.
- C. S. Lewis, letter to Mary Neylan, Jan. 20, 1942.