around the table
photo credit: Valiant Made @valiantmade
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“Perhaps before we invite people to Jesus or invite them to church, we should invite them to dinner.”
~Barry D. Jones
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Table conversation, it is a favorite part of my day, whether I am sitting alone talking to God in my morning quiet time, having a meal with others in a restaurant, in someone’s home sharing a cup of coffee, in an office having lunch, or if I am sitting around a table full of people in our home, nothing is more bonding then the laughter, tears, trials, fears, and emotions shared around the table.
People tend to open up and talk more around the table.
In fact, 80% of teens say family dinner is pretty high on their list of things they like to do, and dinner time is when they are most likely to talk to their parents. I can personally attest to this. I learned quite a bit about my sons and their lives at dinner time. My sons and I had a nightly dinner ritual called high point/low point where we each took a turn to share the high and low points of our day with one another.
Sometimes these were funny conversations where we would laugh hysterically, other times there might have been anger that would erupt, or a deep wound might have been exposed. Overall, this was a valuable and treasured time spent together. We all learned a lot about one another around our family dinner table.
That table was so incredibly special to the boys and me because of the hours of time spent around it, that when I decided to downsize and move, it mattered whose home our family table would go to next. Whose home would value and share precious family time, eating, playing games, working puzzles, doing homework, laughing, welcoming friends and family around our table?
The decision was quickly made. We gave the table to my younger sister Melissa and her family, and we have witnessed them building precious memories in their home, around our family table. I hope if they ever decide to give it away, they too choose a special new family to pass that table on to. A family that will understand and know the value of time spent around the table.
There are seventy-six Bible verses about tables according to bible.knowing-jesus.com. A table is a symbol of where we eat. It is literally where we eat physical food, but spiritually, it refers to our mental and spiritual nourishment. We are to be mindful of the tables we pull our chairs up to and the table conversations we partake of, and we are to be mindful of the edification of the conversation around our own table.
“Sharing a table is one of the most uniquely human things we do as no other creature consumes its food at a table and sharing tables with other people reminds us that there is more to food than fuel. We do not eat only for sustenance.“– Paul Ebeling
For as long as I can remember, I think of mealtime, time around the table, as a time of fellowship. This is likely because I was raised in church where fellowship was centered around community and sharing meals around the table. Let me just state for the record here and now, honestly, I was not a big fan of the fellowship potlucks. I loved being with everyone, but I have a real hang-up about eating food cooked in someone’s home that I don’t know. I know this makes zero sense, because I do eat out in restaurants, but there it is, it’s out there! Ha!
Sorry, I digressed. Back to fellowship.
Fellowship is a word derived from the Greek word koinonia. Koinonia can be defined as “holding something in common.” Websters’ defines fellowship as, “companionship, company, a community of interest, the quality or state of being comradely.”
Jesus loved to fellowship.
In the book of Luke alone, there are ten counts of Jesus dining with various people. He never ate alone and those He chose to eat with, the company He kept, shocked the church leaders (the Pharisees) of His day. Jesus would frequently fellowship around the table with not only his disciples, but those considered the lowest of lows in the community.
Because everything Jesus did was intentional and to teach a lesson, or to set an example, one could assume He was setting a precedent for others to follow when it comes to eating together and fellowshipping around the table. Jesus saw value in that special moment of time where everyone stopped what they were doing and gathered around the table to fellowship together, to rest, to nourish their body, and through conversation, nourish their soul.
People who were around the table with Jesus were changed. They developed an understanding of their sins, and their souls were restored with the nourishment they received from His words along with their bodies from the nourishment of the food.
What I love so much about Jesus and his table habits, is that eating was not about the food to Him. Eating was about fellowship. Being around the table for Jesus was about the company he was with more than any food being served.
When I look back on my childhood, my most treasured and fondest memories are those surrounding the dinner table with my mother and father and siblings. The same can be said of when I was raising my sons. The memories I have from all the years I had with them, our family, their friends, and my friends around our dinner table can bring a tear of joy and a warmth in my heart that I will treasure always. I am grateful for the example I had from my parents and that I understood and treasured in my heart, the value and importance of cooking a family meal, turning the tv or radio off, praying together, and then sharing a meal together almost every single night.
In our home now we have two tables that are regularly full of dinner guests. Since I first met Greg, even before we were married, the tables in his home, now our home, were always full of friends, family, and guests. In the nine years we have been together our tables have become a place of connection, a place where faith and prayers have been shared, tears have been cried, laughter has been shared, conversations both hard and light have been discussed, community has been built, relationships made or healed, and love experienced.
And now…this Christmas, my son Anthony and his wife Hilary gifted us a beautiful handmade dining table that seats 10-12 people.
This is the first table Greg and I have had of our own as a couple and as a blended family, and I am so excited knowing the use it’s going to get. I find myself smiling, visualizing all the new memories that are going to be made around this table, memories with our children and grandchildren, with family and friends, neighbors, and with people we haven’t even met yet.
When I think about our responsibility as Christians with this table I will pray for God to put it on my heart to see our table and mealtime as Jesus did, that eating is about fellowship. I pray that God will keep it in the forefront of my mind that being around the table for Jesus was about the company he was with more than any food being served. I pray that I do not become a Martha, from the story of Mary & Martha, and concern myself more with the preparations than the company around our table .
We eat in fellowship, around the table together to also nourish our souls.
As I was researching for this week’s blog I reflected back over the various moments in my life, key moments that took place around the table. It was really quite enlightening. So, I started listing the “kinds” (used metaphorically of course) of tables I have sat around throughout my life, tables that hold a significant memory of time for me, and it was such a blessing to piece together perhaps why time spent around the table was so important to Jesus.
Do any of these “types of tables” trigger any memories for you?
The family dinner table- Childhood, raising my own children, and now with our grown children and grandchildren
The breakfast table-my treasured time with Jesus, in the still of the day before anyone else awakens
The family reunion table- Grandma’s house with extended family, piecing together where I come from
The all are welcome table-The open invitation table for anyone to join
The real-life table- High point. Low point. Sharing the journey together
The safe place table- where hurts are shared, and wounds are healed
The community table-where bible studies happen, and outreach is planned
The gathering table- where there are collective souls working towards a common goal
The giving table-bagging donations with family or friends for community or church outreach
The grieving table-where grief is poured out among friends or family or brothers and sisters in Christ
The sharing table- donation tables for people in need or crisis
The Volunteer table- time spent giving of our time with others to serve others
The learning table- where we are fed that soul and mind nourishment
The laughter table-time spent just feeling joy and sharing laughter together
I could go on and on listing the various “categories” of tables that we all gather around throughout our lives, and how the time spent around those tables has impacted us throughout our lives, but I would be remiss if I did not list the most important table of all. The Lord’s table, also known as the Altar or Communion table.
“And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
(Luke 22:17-19)
Jesus’ last supper-also known as the Passover meal, was the last meal Jesus ate with his disciples before His betrayal, arrest, trial, and crucifixion. It was spent around the table with his disciples and is full of context for us to draw from when framing the value of time spent around the table with others.
Susha Roberts says it best in, 10-lessons-from-jesus-table. Roberts says, ”The scene that is set reveals that Jesus is the lamb of God, that in Christ there is a new covenant [a new promise from God], and that we are to remember his sacrifice [each time we partake of] communion. (Luke 22: 14-38). Jesus is clearly the center of this meal.”
“Yet Jesus didn’t host this dinner for himself. He was thinking of his disciples, who had very little time left with him to understand the significance of what was about to happen.”
“His death and resurrection were going to change their lives and the world itself. He could have talked about his terrible suffering to come, but instead focused on what they would need to remember from that night.”
Jesus also taught the principles of servanthood and forgiveness during the Last Supper as He washed His disciples’ feet:
“The greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves”
The Last Supper was a significant event and proclaimed a turning point in God’s plan for the world. The redemptive nature of Christ’s death was revealed to all who have eyes to see and ears to hear.
“Tables are [one] of the most important places of human connection. We are often [more alive and engaged in life] when sharing a meal around a table. New Testament scholar NT Wright captured something of this sentiment when he wrote, “When Jesus himself wanted to explain to his disciples what his forthcoming death was all about, he didn’t give them a theory, he gave them a meal.” (Paul Ebeling, The Dinner Table as a Place for Connection and Blessing)
“Jesus often used meals to engage with people and teach important lessons. And he continues to call us to his table to feast on who he is and learn more about him through his word. Jesus’ example provides an opportunity to invite friends, outcasts and even enemies to know God’s story of love and salvation.” ~Susha Roberts (10-lessons-from-jesus-table)
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Just as ALL are welcome at Jesus’ table, so should all be welcome around the table in our homes.
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“Perhaps before we invite people to Jesus or invite them to church, we should invite them to dinner.” ~Barry D. Jones
We all start on the outside
The outside looking in
This is where grace begins
We were hungry we were thirsty
With nothing left to give
Oh the shape that we were in
Just when all hope seemed lost
Love opened the door for us
He said come to the table
Come join the sinners who have been redeemed
Take your place beside the Savior
Sit down and be set free
Come to the table
Come meet this motley crew of misfits
These liars and these thieves
There's no one unwelcome here
That sin and shame that you brought with you
You can leave it at the door
And let mercy draw you near
So, come to the table
Come join the sinners who have been redeemed
Take your place beside the Savior
Sit down and be set free
Come to the table
Come to the table
To the thief and to the doubter
To the hero and the coward
To the prisoner and the soldier
To the young and to the older
All who hunger all who thirst
All the last and all the first
All the paupers and the princess
All who fail, you've been forgiven
All who dream and all who suffer
All who loved and lost another
All the chained and all the free
All who follow all who lead
Anyone who's been let down
All the lost you have been found
All who have been labeled right or wrong
To everyone who hears this song
Oh
Come to the table
Come join the sinners you have been redeemed
Take your place beside the Savior
Sit down and be set free
Oh
Sit down and be set free
Come to the table
Come to the table
Sit down and be set free
Come to the table
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Ben Mcdonald / Ben Glover / Dave Frey
Did you know?
Only 30% of families today regularly have dinner together around the table, despite family mealtime being hugely beneficial for kids. SEE LINKS TO INFORMATIVE RESOURCES BELOW
Jesus might be a foodie? After all, the average person has around 10,000 taste buds!! That is A LOT of opportunity to be delighted by food.
Those of us who eat three meals a day eat 1,095 meals in the span of a year.
Some of today’s blog is paraphrased from the following websites, and they provide some good information:
