Table Time

I Corinthians 11.26 (RSV)

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

Every Sunday, there is an opportunity to gather around the Lord’s Table. This is really central to what I think about God. God is a God of invitation. God is a God of place setting. It is at the Table of the Lord that we find our belonging. At this same Table our belief in Jesus is strengthened. The Table reminds us that our behavior is shaped by the always loving God.

At LPCC, we practice various ways of Table fellowship. If it is at the 9:00AM Chapel service, we have a brief meditation, the words of institution, prayer for the bread and the cup, and the invitation for all to come forward to rip off a piece of the bread and dip it into the cup. At the 10:45AM worship on the first Sunday of the month, similar things happen. A brief meditation, the word of institution for the bread and then an elder prays. Then the words of institution continue for the cup and another elder prays. Then the trays are passed out by an attending elder. We hold our bread and cup until everyone is served and then we eat together ending with a prayer of thanksgiving. On other Sundays after the postlude we meditate, institute, pray, and share.

Not all of these practices are exactly the same. There is fluidity to them. Yet the invitation is the same…come…all are invited! The Table highlights that we are a movement that seeks belonging for all as found in Jesus Christ. This invitation is extravagant, maybe even reckless, but I am sure glad it is extended even to us all!

During Lent, as part of your spiritual practice, come and feast on God’s extravagant love together. The Table is waiting…