June 23 Prayer

Being a family of six, dinner at my family’s dinner table has always been a full, loud, and ofttimes chaotic experience. When the four kids were little, my husband and I had our hands full at the table trying to keep food on our kids’ plates and our children focused more on eating than talking. A common phrase at our table was, “More eating, less talking, please!” Now that two of my boys are adults and the other two kids are teens, our table is no less chaotic, but now the chaos comes as they banter back and forth across the table, pass food from one end to the other, and sometimes lob a wadded up napkin at a sibling sitting across from them (much to their mother’s chagrin). There is almost always more than one conversation going on at the same time, and sometimes the sheer volume makes my head spin. Still, having all my children at the table together is my most favorite thing in the entire world.

Over the years, our table has regularly hosted guests as my kids have brought home their friends or their special “someone” (one of which has now become a daughter-in-law!) or we have provided temporary housing for someone who needed a respite from their current living situation or invited someone from the church. It has not been unusual for us to have eight or more people sitting at our table on a regular basis! And while I encourage the kids to give me a “heads up” before they bring someone home for dinner, I do my very best to make sure we always prepare enough food for at least a few extras. Because I want our table to be a place where people are welcome, whether they’re expected or not. I want our table to be a place where people can feel included. And my one rule for eating at our table is that no one leaves hungry, even if that means I go to the fridge and pull out leftovers to add to what’s already there. I will do everything I can to make sure there is always room for one more seat at our table.

But how does this tie into the idea of grace? What in the world does a full and chaotic dinner table have to do with God’s grace for His people?

Go with me to the table found in Psalm 23. A table prepared by God Himself. And then to the table of Mark 14. The feast prepared for this table? The body and blood of the Son of God. 

It is at this table that we find the most generous offering of grace. As Jesus offered Himself not only to erase the penalty of sin but also to welcome us into the presence of the Father from now unto eternity. This table is a place of fellowship, where food is not the only sustenance offered and where the hunger of the soul is fully satisfied. All are welcome at this table, and Jesus has ensured that there will always be enough to go around.

If we’re honest, we have to admit that this table gets chaotic at times, too. There are some seated there who have been part of the family their entire lives, but others have only recently arrived at the invitation of others. There is banter back and forth across the table as the Church enjoys time together at the table. There is laughter, there are tears. There is space for all who are willing to pull up to the table, no matter whose table they’ve been at before.  

Because that’s what grace does. It invites, it makes space, it welcomes. And there is always, always enough of Jesus that everyone at the table can be filled and fully satisfied.