We are fast approaching the season when we will use our indoor dining room tables a whole lot more. We won’t be firing up the grill as often or sitting out on our patios and decks. The kids are now well into the rhythm of a new school year, and soon the weather will cool down, the days will be shorter, and it will start to feel more natural to gather inside.
There’s something meaningful about a family table. In my family, we seem to pass tables around. The big, oval, country-style pedestal table that was in my childhood home has migrated to our Maine camp. I love the generous size of that table, and although the wood species don’t match, it still pairs perfectly with the rustic hickory dining chairs we added. The old table was already nicked and scarred with years of life, so we don’t worry about how it will fare for camp life. I love the patina that years of meals and activities have bestowed upon it.
When Todd and I remodeled our home several years ago, we splurged and bought an immense oak farm table for our dining area. We traveled to Ohio to a store that specializes in made-to-order Amish-crafted furniture. We looked at the many choices, picked out chairs, chose the table’s shape and leg style, and selected the stain color. When the salesperson asked us how many leaves we wanted, we shrugged and said, “We might as well get as many as it can hold… you never know how many people might show up for Thanksgiving dinner!”
Because of the big table, our home tends to be the family gathering place. We’ve never run out of space at the big table, no matter who shows up. Sometimes we host a couple of different meals on a holiday weekend, depending on various family members’ schedules. But there have been times when everyone shows up at once, and we have to take all the leaves out of storage and extend it as wide as it will go!
I love that the early church has so many stories about tables. The practice of communion is one centered on Jesus’ last meal with his friends around what was probably a simple table—one big enough for at least 13 people. Tables are the place where we receive welcome, nourishment, affirmation, and care. Between meals, our tables might be the place where we fold our laundry, pay our bills, create our crafts, do our homework, or prepare the provisions for the season. I have memories of my grandmother’s table burgeoning with canned jars of beans, tomatoes, peaches, and pears. In other words, life happens around the table!
One of the key questions we should be asking is, “Who is at the table, and who is not at the table?” Because the answer demonstrates who we are doing life with and who might be excluded from participation in our lives.
I hope that as we explore the theme of “Come to the Table” in these next few weeks and as we prepare to make our commitments to support the ministries of First Church, I pray we will think about all the tables in our lives—dining room tables, boardroom tables, altar tables. Who is at the table, and who is not at the table? Can we continue to look around with eyes and hearts wide open so that we can see that there is room at the table for everyone? Because God has a never-ending supply of extra leaves ready to make the table a little bigger.
Blessings,
Pastor Duane
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