Welcome to the Table

Text: Luke 22:14-20, Revelation 3:20

And he took bread, and when he had 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 22:19, ESV

Something you may not know about our dear Raechel Myers—one of her goals in life is to possess a ridiculously long dining room table. No, really. We’re talking record-setting table length, you guys. When dreaming up her ideal floorplan, Raechel will be quick to insist that the perfect dining room must accommodate such a monstrous beauty, with room enough for as many people as she’d like to sit around it, thankyouverymuch. I love this about her.

The hosting part of hospitality comes naturally to Rae, and I’m thankful to have been on the receiving end of her giftedness more than once. As someone who struggles with all the “to-do’s” of hospitality, it does my heart good to enter into a space where I have been joyfully anticipated and unreservedly welcomed. But even Raechel would tell you—as we’ve learned in this study over the past two weeks—

Hospitality is not just about the table. It’s about the people. It’s about the Gospel.

We’ve said that Jesus is the Ultimate Inviter. And what He invites us to is not just a gathering, not just a meal, but a whole new life.

The Gospel is life-giving. Hospitality is actively seeking to share that life with others. It is taking the gift of new life we have in Christ and giving it away with both careful intention and unabashed enthusiasm.

As followers of Jesus, it is our privilege, our responsibility, our JOY to invite people to the Gospel. When Jesus gathered His disciples for their Last Supper together, just a short time before His death, He invited them to remember. Remember Who He is. Remember what He had done and what He was going to do. Remember that their Why in this life had forever changed. And the symbols Jesus used at the table that day? Bread. Wine. He is the Bread of Life. He is our sustenance. He was broken for us so we might live.

Jesus welcomes us to His table for a life of holy communion with Him. He joyfully anticipates us and unreservedly welcomes us. In turn, we welcome others—all others!—to more than just the dining room table of our dreams. We welcome them to the table of our Savior.

This is the Table that changes lives.
This is the Table that offers forgiveness and acceptance and unconditional love.
This is the Table surrounded with beggars-turned-brothers and sisters of the Risen One, Christ the Lord.

That’s us, friends! We are the ones who have been welcomed, and that is why we welcome.

As we take all we’ve learned about hospitality in God’s Word and apply it to our hearts and lives, may we remember the Why of our invitation. May we remember Who is truly extending the invitation to those around us. Let’s not just invite people to the table. Let’s invite them to Jesus.