Dear reader, as I sit this morning with my first steaming cup of coffee, I am reminded once again that God’s grace often comes to us in the most ordinary of ways. Coffee is, for me at least, one of those small but daily sacraments of life. It is not (before anyone calls the Bishop) one of the seven great sacraments of the Church, but it is nonetheless a sign, a token, and a gift of grace. That first sip, when the aroma fills the air and the warmth passes through you — well, let’s just say that more than once I’ve whispered Deo gratias before I’ve managed even my morning prayers.
I sometimes think that the Lord, in creating beans, must have had coffee in mind all along. And when someone first figured out that roasted beans, ground fine and steeped in hot water, could produce this holy elixir — surely angels sang. Some people find God in the sunrise; I, too, find God there, but with a mug in my hand.
Of course, there is humour in all of this. I’ve often remarked that the most theologically charged moment of a parish Sunday is not always the sermon or even the hymns — but the line at the coffee urn after worship. Coffee hour, I have long believed, is the eighth sacrament of Anglicanism. Conversations deepen there, friendships are renewed, the lonely find companions, and someone always discovers that the last cookie has been taken (and offers forgiveness anyway). It is in those simple cups poured and shared that community takes shape.
I am reminded, too, of the Emmaus story. The disciples didn’t recognize Jesus on the road, but when He broke the bread, their eyes were opened. I often think He could just as easily have offered them a cup of coffee and had the same effect. Sharing a cup, breaking bread — they are both reminders of the presence of Christ among us, hidden in the ordinary, revealed in love.
So, dear friends, I encourage you to think of your morning coffee (or tea, or whatever warms your heart) as more than just a necessity for getting the eyelids open. Think of it as a small sacramental act, a reminder that God meets us in the daily and the ordinary, in mugs and moments, as much as in chalices and cathedrals.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I believe the Kingdom of God is calling from the kitchen — in the form of a second cup.
A Prayer Before Coffee
Gracious God,
You meet us in the simplest gifts of daily life.
Bless this cup before me —
that its warmth may steady my spirit,
its strength may ready me for service,
and its aroma remind me that joy is found in small, holy things.
May this morning’s coffee be a token of Your grace,
sustaining me in patience, kindness, and love.
And if it also helps keep my eyes open during Morning Prayer,
well, Lord, You know my frame, and You understand.
Through Jesus Christ, who breaks bread with us,
and would surely share a cup as well.
Amen.
Grace Before Coffee
Lord of life and early mornings,
we thank You for this holy brew.
May it wake our hearts as much as our minds,
warm our fellowship, and keep us kind.
Bless the hands that prepared it,
the friends who share it,
and grant that no one spill on the church carpet.
Amen.