“Come to the Table” // “Vengan a la mesa” is an invitation to both receive and extend God’s hospitable embrace and welcome. The table is often associated with food and is a place of belonging, sustenance, and conversation. To be invited to the table is to be welcomed. Throughout Scripture God expresses his love by making room for others and, in response, God’s people demonstrate their faith by practicing hospitality toward others.

In the beginning God created room for humanity by separating the turbulent waters to make space for humanity (and all of creation) to flourish. Interestingly enough, at the end of the creation account God tells Adam and Eve that the entire world is set before them like an expansive banquet table (“the whole earth … will be yours for food.” (Gen 1:29).

By grace, God called Abram out of Ur and promised to bless the world through him. After having followed God’s lead by faith, Abraham demonstrated his faith by practicing hospitality by welcoming three strangers (the LORD!) to the table for a lavish meal.

In the exodus, God once again created space for his people by rescuing them from bondage and placing them in the Promised Land – an event remembered and celebrated in the Passover meal. Traditionally, this meal begins with these hospitable words of invitation: “Whoever is hungry, let him come and eat; whoever is in need, let him come.” In response to God’s act of care and rescue while they were foreigners, Israel was to reflect God’s hospitality by welcoming and loving the stranger (Leviticus 19:33-34). Throughout the prophets, Israel’s faith was measured not only by its professions of faith or offerings of worship, but largely by how they welcomed and cared for their neighbors (Isaiah 58:6-7). As God had welcomed Israel “to the table,” so were they to welcome others.

In the New Testament, Jesus frequently came to the table and ate with sinners and religious people alike. An interesting exercise would be to read through the Gospel of Luke, for instance, and notice how many times Jesus “comes to the table.” The culmination of Jesus’ ministry centers around the table and acts of hospitality, too. On the night he was betrayed, he ate the Last Supper with his friends. And it was “at the table” that the resurrected Jesus appeared to his fearful and despondent disciples (Luke 24:1-43, John 21:1-14). Coming to the table was – and is – a tangible expression of the gospel – a gracious welcome into God’s family, sustenance for the journey of faith, and the reminder of Christ’s presence journeying with us.

The Apostle Paul urged the earliest Christians to pattern their lives on God’s hospitality shown in Jesus Christ. Paul knew a world marked by deep division: political oppression, economic disparity, sexual exploitation and promiscuity, ethnic divisions, and religious in-fighting. He wasn’t just an observer of this world, he was often the victim of its harshest realities. He was accused of distorting and misrepresenting the gospel from his fellow Christians, he was beaten by religious opponents, and was imprisoned by the political authorities. It’s against this backdrop that we are to hear Paul’s words: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:2). In contrast to the worldly, divisive, and polarizing patterns of this world, Paul gives us a picture of what a God-transformed life could look like (Rom. 12:9-21). A way of life that recognizes the gifts in others, honors and is devoted to one another, is patient, generous, and empathetic, seeks harmony and peace, and is willing to associate with outsiders. Or as Paul put it succinctly: “Practice hospitality” (Romans 12:13).