the table.

a piece i wrote for communion at my church.

_____

when i think about communion and the scene that we find it in scripture — in every account in the gospels and paul’s account in 1 corinthians 11… we see jesus taking communion with his disciples around the table.

i love this visual we get, when we think of the table. we see jesus doing a lot at the table in scripture. sharing it with all kinds of different people. he maybe even shared a table with some people we wouldn’t even wanna sit next to. he was constantly getting in trouble for this very thing. eating and drinking with the “wrong” kinda people – the tax collectors and sinners. it was scandalous.

but for him, everyone had an invitation. everyone had a seat at the table. at the Last Supper, the inauguration that began our practice of communion, we see judas, who would betrays jesus, at the table. peter, who would deny jesus, at the table. the remaining 10 apostles, who would each abandon jesus, at his table. as much as we’d love to dictate the guest list for the Lords Supper, it’s called the Lords Supper for a reason. he decides that.

so why does all of that matter to us today?  it matters because taking communion should just be about a tasteless wafer and some juice.  it should reminds us of what a scandal it is that we are invited to jesus’ table to begin with. not because we’re so unworthy, but rather, god’s grace and love is so infinitely unconditional and accessible to all.

communion matters to us today because it reminds us that no matter what we’ve done in our past or the condition of our heart today… it holds no bearing on the fact that the love of god can never be earned or bought but, like these elements we hold in our hands, it must be taken in and received.

i believe the table is an awful lot like the cross. if you think about it, both are built with wood and held together with nails… and both… are an invitation to receive the love, forgiveness, and grace of God, here and now.

so today, let us collectively think about that kind of love. the kind of love that welcomes all with open arms, invites us in, and saves us a seat at the table. let us take these elements together. not because there is anything magical or mystical about them. rather, let us remember that this is our way of participating and receiving the invitation to gods table.