The Importance of the Table

 

"We're Gonna Sit At the Welcome Table" is an African spiritual used in the time of slavery and during the Civil Rights Era of the 1960's. In the spiritual the "Welcome Table" invites all to a place in God's Kingdom and in the Civil Rights Era it alludes to the lunch counters where people of color could not sit. The table is the center of God's Kingdom, the Beloved Community where all can share the the rich diversity of the human experience and be connected with all of God's creation.

 

Jesus' ministry is centered around the table, as he proposed an entirely new roadmap where all were welcome to come and have a seat around the table, and no one was excluded. Communion is a practice that prepares us to be in the world, to explore our partnership with God, and to live into our promise to fulfill the new covenant with one another in this place and this time. In coming to the table we are learning how our own tables should be open: free of judgement and inclusive to all those who are seeking to be fed. In the Gospel passage this past Sunday, Jesus is revealed to his disciples when he asks them to share a meal. On the road to Emmaus, Jesus is revealed when he sits at table with his fellow travelers and breaks bread with them. God is revealed among us when we invite one another to the table to share a meal.

 

This week Covenant Student Ministries will host our monthly community meal, where all are welcome. Our ministry is designed just that way; we have an open table where all are welcome and no one is excluded. Where all can come and be fed; whether they are physically, emotionally, or spiritually hungry, they have a seat because our table is an extension of God's table. The table that we share is how we express connection, compassion, and community to all those who are seeking something, seeking wholeness, seeking love and justice.

 

How are the tables in your lives an extension of God's table?