Three years ago, my father died on the eve of Palm Sunday. I’ve reflected on that experience previously here and here. The days before the beginning of this year’s Holy Week, however, brought with them a very different kind of experience for my wife and me – the birth of a baby. This is our second child and second son, who will turn one week old tomorrow. Needless to say, throughout Holy Week, I’ll be thinking a lot about birth, death, and the lives that are given to us as a gift between those events. Here’s a prayer and a couple of photos from day one:
God our creator, we thank you for the gift of this child, entrusted to our care. May we be patient and understanding, ready to guide and to forgive, so that through our love he may come to know your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Taking time to understand where our food comes from and what goes into making the wonderful things we enjoy at the dinner table makes a person more grateful, I think, for these gifts that come from God and that we share with our family and friends. This notion has taken root, quite literally, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Bethesda, Maryland, as reported in 
