My tribe of Christians is the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The communion table serves as a central focus in almost all of our sanctuaries. Each time we gather for worship, we share the bread and cup. The regular practice of communion was not what attracted me to this fellowship in the beginning, but in many ways it is what has kept me here.
I came to the Disciples on the recommendation of a college classmate who had begun directing the choir at a Disciples church where he lived. What attracted me was the absence of a creed. The simple confession of faith and commitment to follow Jesus was sufficient for fellowship. That openness was appealing.
In a church that wide open, though, how can we possibly express the unity of the church that we value? When we are at our best, it shines through at the table. At the table, we set aside difference long enough to welcome one another and to serve one another. At the table we commit ourselves again to shared discipleship. At the table we find strength to work together to accomplish God’s purpose for us.
On the Sunday before Thanksgiving this year, I was blessed to be able to preach at First Christian Church in Sterling, a community in northeast Colorado. It was one of those times that–I don’t know why–I felt led to recall Paul’s reminder to the church in Corinth of the importance of the table, that it is the place where divisions of culture cease, where we welcome one another in the bonds of fellowship.
In a time when we struggle to welcome the stranger, the church, especially the Disciples church, should be leading the way. We have welcome; we have hospitality, and we have the table to prove it.
There’s room here at the table; you can always come back home.
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