Will You Extend the Table?

Something special happens when people gather around a dinner table. Laughter is heard. Hospitality is practiced. Friendships are born. I never get tired of seeing these dynamics at play during Alpha, a ten-week course where people from all walks of life share a meal together and explore life’s big questions. I’ve watched people enter the room as complete strangers with vastly different worldviews, whether religious, socioeconomic, political, or otherwise, and leave as great friends at the closing session. It’s truly remarkable. For many people, transformation is one dinner table away.

When I reflect on the Last Supper, I’m deeply moved by the power of an invitation. Could it be that one of the greatest ways to honor a person is to invite him or her to your table?

Consider this: Have you ever been invited to an important dinner party? Perhaps the invite came from the mayor or another influential person in your community. Imagine being invited to the White House to share a meal with the President. Regardless of your political leaning, you’d feel honored by that invite.

In a far greater way, the disciples, a ragtag group of people made up of fishermen, tax collectors, and thieves, whose only apparent commonality was a desire to follow the Messiah, were invited to the table of Jesus during his final hours and treated as royalty. Jesus wasn’t concerned about their worldview, their lack of an impressive resume, their questionable allegiance to him (think of Judas stealing from the money bag or Peter denying the Lord); Jesus, the one for whom and through whom all things were made, the one who knows the thoughts and intentions of every human heart, invites his friends to the table.

Who can you invite to your table? Who do you know that’s a little rough around the edges, a little dishonest, or a little anxious about the world around them? Perhaps you can extend the table.

Truthfully, we’re all a bit off center. The Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. So, regardless of our position or accomplishments, regardless of the great things we’ve done in our community or church, we need the heart-transforming work of Jesus in our lives.

There’s a place for us at the table of the Lord. Every time we gather around the Lord’s Table, we experience grace and remember Jesus’ great sacrifice on our behalf. We are loved beyond our wildest dreams. Jesus not only loves us, he really likes us. He really wants us at his table.

There’s a place for you at the table. There’s a place for your neighbor, as well. Will you extend the table?