Open Table

Published November 4, 2025
Open Table
Opening Ice-breaking Questions
  • If you could host a dinner party with any three people (living or historical), who would you invite and why?
  • What's the most memorable invitation you've ever received, and what made it so special?
  • Have you ever had to decline an invitation you really wanted to accept? What were the circumstances?

Reflection

“Someone gave a great dinner and invited many.” Who do you think he invited initially? He invited his friends and people of great importance, of course. 

In those days, status was very important. (It seems things haven’t really changed.) A great banquet was not just a meal; it was a major social event, a symbol of abundance, fellowship, and celebration. Invitations were sent out well in advance, and accepting such an invitation was a serious social commitment. To decline after initially accepting, especially with flimsy excuses, was a grave insult to the host. 

When his guests decline with flimsy excuses (they might as well have said “I have to wash my hair”), the person throwing the banquet is stuck with all this food. It is then that the table is opened up to the lowest of society. The beggars, the crippled, the sick. It is then that the table is truly open. God wants our tables to be open. Not just to our friends. Not just to those who can offer us something in return. But to all. 

That’s one of the reasons I love Communion in the United Methodist Church. It is an open table. All are welcome; welcome without regard to difference. It is a table where there are no barriers to community. It is a place where we experience the love of God. ‘God so loved the world that God gave.’ It is a banquet where everyone is a VIP, a very important person with a special seat at the table. And we are called to ensure that their voices are heard and respected.  

Pray:

Holy One,
May we always recognize you in everyone we encounter.
May we invite others in rather than hide away.
May we share your table with all. 
Amen.