THE BANQUET TABLE
By CHERYL CRUCE
Mom always found a way to prepare a meal we would enjoy as a family, including me, who was the pickiest of eaters. I remember being awakened to a breakfast of biscuits and cheese grits as a child. At the same time, lunchtime was a menagerie of leftovers served among giggles and hungry children ready to return to the yard to play. Rice and homemade bread were the two main staples adorning the evening meal.
Much of my childhood was centered around the family table built by our Dad. The size and rectangle shape allowed for an easy serving of 10 people. To add a flare to the dining set, Dad topped the table with a Formica laminate, half in red and the other in white. Then he purchased red and white chairs to complete his creation. Deep in my memory, I can still see the images of my family gathered around simplistic settings of Melmac dishes and Mason jar glasses filled with southern sweet tea.
The table was more than a gathering place to nurture the body with food; it sustained the home. Our parents discussed family issues, the needs of the neighbors, and world events. As children, we talked about the ballgame in the field behind the house and the forts we were building. Time seemed slower then. Conversations were kind, and eye contact was a learned skill. Today, time moves so quickly that we struggle to maintain a life schedule. It has been said, “A strong family has well-worn seats at the dinner table.” Our lives could use a healthy dose of well-worn seats, for we have lost the art of the family table.
Jesus understood our need for the dining table and the benefits it produced for our spirit. When Matthew was called to follow Jesus, Matthew threw a banquet feast inviting all to the table. There, the Pharisees questioned Jesus’ motives for sitting with sinners. However, He responded that His purpose was to redeem sinful man (Luke 5).
Often in the scripture, Jesus gathered the people for mealtime. In Luke 9, we see the miracle of the five loaves and two fish feeding the multitude. We often read of the home of Martha and Mary and the breaking of bread. Jesus’ final meal with His disciples came after His resurrection. Once again, the disciples fished all night, catching nothing; Jesus said, “Cast your net on the other side,” and their boats were filled. When Peter and the others arrived on shore, Jesus had prepared a breakfast of bread and fish (John 21).
With each meal served by Jesus, strength and healing came to those who would receive. Nevertheless, no meal would compare to the breaking of bread and pouring of wine that would become our Holy Communion. This table set by our Lord would be our ultimate healing table, representing our salvation in the Bread of Life and the redemptive power of His blood spilled from Calvary. When was the last time you gathered at the Lord’s table where your redemption flows freely? Are the dining chairs less worn these days? It is time we clean off the tables of our lives and gather again as a family, both physically and spiritually, for our Heavenly Father has built us a banquet table for all to gather around.
1 Corinthians 10:16-17 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
Cheryl Mixon-Cruce is Pastor of Ochlockonee Bay United Methodist Church and Sopchoppy United Methodist Church.