This Lenten season, we are following a Devotional titled Meeting Jesus at the Table. As you have seen, we are carrying this theme into worship each week; we will gather at the table on Thursday evenings to talk, eat, and reflect together; we will consider those who are hungry and collaborate to offer food to those in need.
And so I’ve been thinking about those I meet at the table, and have been reflecting on how it is that I show up to the table when others, and Jesus, meet me.
I wish I could say that I always come to the table with locally sourced organic ingredients, a delicious recipe, and the artistry to make a meal tailored to the needs of those gathered at the table. I wish I could say that I am so confident in my own skill to feed others. But I’m not. Although I’m past the season of my life when I burned water on the stove, I’m still not the best cook. It feels like a shortcoming—like something I SHOULD be able to do with greater ease and joy—like I’m letting people down.
But then I realized that when we gather at a meal table, there are many roles we each fill—at times interchangeably, at times, all at once. At times we are a guest, and at other times we are the host. At times we are hungry and at other times full. At times we are on the “inside” of those gathered around the table, and at other times we are one of the “outsiders” trying to fit in.
When I meet others at the table, I am usually…
…the one who is last to the table.
…the one who sits near the young kids and plays iSpy.
…the one who cuts up the food of those whose hands are too small or too weak to do so themselves
…the one who makes sure that everyone is included in the conversation.
…the last one who is done eating.
And this is OK.
We all have a role to play as we approach the table together—whether we pull up a chair for a latecomer or pour ice water for someone who is thirsty. We have a role to play at the table even if we show up exhausted and hungry and in need of some tender care.
The important thing is to show up. And if our Gospel lessons tell us ONE way to show up to the table it is to come to the table as our most authentic selves—to be honest about our grief, regrets, needs, anger, questions, worry, and our hope. Here we meet Jesus. Here we meet one another. Here we are formed and fed—as individuals and as a family of faith.
I pray that throughout this Lent, you approach the table with a readiness to meet Christ—and to notice Jesus within you and in the witness of those with whom you eat. May you feel welcome, seen, nourished and loved, always.
—Pastor Heather