Christ’s Table

On the left, our Lake Dallas Elementary partner, Vix, with the second wagon-load of snacks. On the right, our Shady Shores Elementary partner, Zoe, with all the snacks she could fit on a cart!

This Sunday is the first Sunday in October! That may not mean much to you right away, but this is a special Sunday in the Church calendar: World Communion Sunday. I’ll talk a little bit about this on Sunday morning, but World Communion Sunday was thought up by Presbyterians in Pittsburgh, PA way back in the 1930s as a way to connect the many denominations around the world for one Sunday, naming what makes us similar across the wide diversity of Creation and Christendom. It is a day to recognize the abundant grace of Christ’s Table, and name the reality that grace is offered to all, regardless of where we come from or what we’ve done. If you can’t tell, I am a big fan of World Communion Sunday. 

I love this Sunday because it combines two things that I think are critically important to understand if we are really trying to live out the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our world today. First, is that there is beauty in diverse expressions of love and grace. When Christians around the world take communion this Sunday, they will not all do it the same way. We will take our communion with King’s Hawaiian bread and Welch’s Grape Juice. Our Episcopalian siblings will have communion wine, and likely wafers. Our Catholic siblings will probably say many more words of liturgy than us. Our siblings worshiping in other parts of the world will use different styles of bread, and different kinds of liquids. There is beauty in the wide diversity of expressions that make up the Kingdom of God. 

The second important thing is that all of those expressions point to the same Table. A Table that is set wider than we can imagine, that is built to continue to grow and include more and more people, each with their own diverse way of joining Christ’s Table. These varied expressions all gesture to a dinner set for each person, where grace is served without end and love really is the not-so-secret ingredient. That is Jesus’ Table. And, while we encounter it on Sunday mornings, we also find ourselves at Jesus’ Table during the week.

For instance, I found myself at Jesus’ Table this week when The Graham’s and I spent an hour or so driving around Lake Cities with a truck packed full of snacks for the students of Lake Dallas and Shady Shores Elementary Schools. Thanks to the generosity of this congregation, we were able to be part of setting Christ’s Table for the students of these two schools. Thanks to those snacks, they will get to learn, grow, and flourish. Moreover, we empowered our partners at these two schools by helping them create safe places for children to know that they are cherished and important, another key part of a successful learning environment. 

Since starting my time as your pastor, I have been consistently amazed by how this church feeds its community, in mind, body, and spirit. Together, we create Christ’s open, welcoming, inclusive Table right here in Lake Dallas so that our community will know that they are beloved by us, and – more importantly – by God. If that’s not a reason to shout “Amen!” then I don’t know what is. 

See you Sunday, friends. 

In Grace,

Rev. Tim