Sharing a table

In the first reading for this coming Sunday, we'll hear about the personification of Wisdom, who has prepared her house and set her table for a feast. She invites all kinds of people to come and receive her hospitality. 

As with much of the book of Proverbs, this text is metaphorical, and the "meal" to be eaten is understood to be knowledge, insight, and understanding of God's law and God's ways. Even so, the image of sharing a meal together and experiencing hospitality is a powerful one.


Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash

When we finally got around to buying a new dining table a few years ago, I wanted to make sure that whatever we chose would be able to host lots of friends and family for a meal. There is such joy in sharing a meal - new or familiar foods, good conversation, laughter. Most often, we share a meal with people we know, but sometimes it can also be a chance to get to know new faces and new stories. Around the table, we can always make room for more, passing dishes and refilling glasses. 

Back in the summer of 2015, Daniel and I traveled to Detroit to volunteer with the ELCA Youth Gathering. Every three years, tens of thousands of high schoolers and youth directors and pastors and deacons and chaperones and volunteers gather in a city for a week of worship, fellowship, learning, and service. As you might imagine, 30,000 extra people needing to eat makes for some crowded restaurants, and Daniel and I found that a table for two was much easier to come by than a table for 20.

At one restaurant we ran into some friends of ours and their youth group also waiting for a table. Daniel and I were called to a table first, and when we overheard the servers scrambling to make room for a large group, we assumed that the group they were talking about were our friends, and offered that they could share our table. The servers were surprised at the offer, but began setting napkins and silverware around the empty spots at our table and the neighboring one.

As the servers led the group in, it was our turn to be surprised - it was not, in fact, our friends, but a youth group from a church in California. Even so, we welcomed them with smiles and introductions, and shared in good food and good conversation. It turned out that they knew another of our friends from seminary who was serving in California - it's a small Lutheran world! 

Later in the week, gathered in Ford Field (home of the Detroit Lions football team) we shared another meal together - the bread and wine of Communion. By God's gracious hospitality and abundant provision, we all were fed, strengthened, and joined to one another, becoming what we received - the body of Christ. 

What are some memorable meals for you? Who gathered around the table, and how did you give or receive hospitality?


Bonus Resources: 


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