Come, Let Us Eat
Come, let us eat, for now the feast is spread
The hymn reflects Lutheran sacramental theology by celebrating the real presence of Christ in communion while emphasizing the joy of resurrection and grateful reception of God's grace. It balances doctrinal substance with congregational accessibility, characteristic of Lutheran catechetical tradition.
History & Background
Written by Billema Nowottny in 1958, this modern eucharistic hymn was first published in Lutheran hymnals in the 1960s and has become a standard communion text emphasizing joy and celebration. The text reflects mid-twentieth century Lutheran liturgical renewal and ecumenical sensitivity.
Billema Kwillia (b. Liberia, c. 1925) composed both the text and the tune of this hymn during the 1960s when he was a literacy teacher and evangelist. The text’s rather cryptic phrases highlight central themes of the Lord’s Supper. Stanzas 1 and 2 issue the invitation “Come ...,” stanza 3 draws us into an appropriate meditative mood in the Lord’s presence, and stanza 4 dismisses us with the reminder to “spread abroad God’s mighty Word.” A speaker of the Loma language, Kwillia learned to read the language as an adult through a church literacy program. In the early 1960s he became a literacy teacher himself. After being baptized as a Christian, he served as a preacher and evangelist. The text and tune of this hymn were originally transcribed from a recorded church service. Margaret D. Miller (b. Clifton Springs, NX 1927) translated stanzas 1 through 3 from the Loma language into English in 1969, and that translation was first published in 1970 in the Lutheran World Federation hymnal Laudamus (4th ed.). Miller was educated at the Lankenau School for Girls in Philadelphia while her widowed mother served as a missionary in Liberia. After graduation from college, Miller followed her mother’s example and became a missionary in Liberia, serving there as a literacy worker and translator of the Wozi language as well as an editor of the bilingual Loma newspaper, Weekly. She has done graduate work in linguistics and anthropology at the Hartford Seminary Foundation, Hartford, Connecticut. Gilbert E. Doan (b. Bethlehem, PA, 1930) added stanza 4 prior to the hymn’s publication in the Lutheran hymnal Contemporary Worship-4 (1972). A prominent Lutheran clergyman, Doan served as campus pastor in Philadelphia from 1955 to 1961. He was northeastern director for the National Lutheran Campus Ministry from 1961 to 1984 and more recently was pastor of the Lutheran Church of the Holy Communion, Philadelphia. A graduate of Harvard College (B.A. in geology) and Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia (D.B.), he also received an master’s degree in American civilization from the University of Pennsylvania. He has written Renewal in the Pulpit (1966), edited The Preaching ofFrederick W Robertson (1964), and was chair of the hymn texts committee of the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (1967-1978).
Hymnal Appearances
- Chalice Hymnal — 422
- Evangelical Lutheran Worship — 491
- Glory to God — 507
- Lutheran Book of Worship — 214
- Lutheran Service Book — 626
- Lift Up Your Hearts — 845
- Lutheran Worship — 299
- New Century Hymnal — 333
- Psalter Hymnal — 303
- United Methodist Hymnal — 625
- Voices Together — 464
- With One Voice — 776
Liturgical Use
Lord’s Supper—sing stanzas 1 through 3 during distribution of the bread and wine, and sing stanza 4 as a dismissal after the sacrament.
Bulletin Note
Composed in 1958 by Billema Nowottny, this hymn balances Lutheran sacramental theology with congregational accessibility, uniting Easter joy with the doctrine of Christ's real presence in communion.
Preaching Connection
This hymn embodies the Gospel's movement from invitation through grace to grateful reception of Christ's body and blood, making it a perfect complement to sermons on sacramental grace, the real presence, or the resurrection's ongoing claim on our worship.
Catechism & Confessional Connections
- Of Lord’s Supper Augsburg Confession
Themes
Holy Communion Resurrection joy Christian fellowship Sacramental mystery Thanksgiving