Open Table; Open God
Radical Hospitality
The following essay appears in the book Preaching the Uncontrolling Love of God. A link to the book is at the end of this essay.
She heard the call of the minister to come forward and receive communion. Yet, she once again did not respond and stayed in her seat. She knew Paul had warned about receiving communion while being unworthy. If there was anyone who was unworthy, it was her. Years of guilt, shame, and anger swirled within her, which gave certainty of her unworthiness before a sovereign God. God had taken her child. That was the only explanation because “God is in control.” Because of her fear, she sat. She did not go forward to receive the grace because she felt God would take her. Just like God had taken her mate. After all, Paul wrote that some had died in Corinth after he warned about receiving when unworthy. So she sat as others went forward. She almost thought the minister was looking at her with sadness.
This is a story that ministers hear all too often. The main character here is not an actual person, but is based upon actual people I have encountered during my times in ministry. If we were in a room face to face, I would ask for a show of hands of who had heard warnings about receiving communion unworthily. The raised hands would probably be a large majority of the people in the room. Why is that? I believe it begins with a wrong idea of God, which allows us to read scripture within that idea.
The warning our group would point to is found in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verses 27-32. It is a frightening warning. If we eat unworthily, we are answerable for the body and blood of Jesus. There is also judgment for us if we do not examine ourselves. Paul even mentions that several are sick or have died because of the unworthy manner of receiving the meal. That is a frightening warning, but who or what is the target of this warning? It has been used to present a closed communion table. The idea is that any unworthy partaking of communion could lead to spiritual danger. If we have the idea of God as an omnipotent (all-powerful) God who demands proper respect, then we should heed that warning.
If we back up in 1 Corinthians to verse 17, we see what Paul’s warning is about. Paul has learned that the Corinthian Church has factions and divisions. But beyond the division, Paul mentions that the church is not coming together for the Lord’s Supper. Instead, they bring food for themselves and while some get drunk and eat rich food, others go hungry. This is what Paul is referring to in verses 27-32 and being unworthy. If we understand God as a God who is not out to get us, but a God who is with us, this is an easy shift to make. This shift also changes how we view the warnings.
Those who do not love others as fully as God loves us receive Paul's warning. The picture in 1 Corinthians is one of people whose hearts are closed to the idea that there is hospitality around God’s table. Those who are in danger are those who refuse to share and whose hearts are closed. God welcomes the hungry and hurting to God’s table. Humans may choose to exclude the hungry, but God does not. Paul tells them that exclusion leads to sickness and death. Can you imagine how excluding someone may lead to their sickness or death? If we see the cause of sickness and death as God, we may imagine that Paul is aiming his comments at those who are not worthy. But, if we see the cause of sickness and death as exclusion from the meal, Paul’s comments are not about consequences from God. Instead, the consequences are because of the actions of the selfish people who were withholding food from the poor among them.
Imagine that Paul is warning those who put fences around the table of the Lord in communion. Are you able to see another side of the directives of the Corinthian church? The contrast here is between human beings who create division, put up fences, and exclude versus welcoming everyone to the table. Here is where our view of God becomes important. A closed and unchanging God makes the context of punishment in sickness or death make sense. But if we see an open and relational God involved in the world in radical and self-giving love, that being unworthy leads to sickness is foreign. To be clear, when we talk about an open and relational God, we are talking about a God who nature as love does not change. But God may change God’s mind as we see throughout scripture.
Even if we try to place a fence around the table, the gate is out of our control. Jesus tells his disciples in John 10 that he is the gate. As we consider the communion table, Jesus gates any fences we create, and he bids all to come. Try as we might, we cannot close that gate. Our words and actions may cause detours, but eventually those who hear the shepherd will find the gate despite us. A God who works through relationships does not follow our dogmatic fences. I believe God wants us to tear down fences rather than build them. But what does this mean for practical application?
The communion table is a space where helping a community of faith shift to an open and relational view of God can happen. Whether you see communion as a sacrament as I do, or as an ordinance, it is a communal act. Communion is by nature a communal act and it can draw others into community. In this relational reality, we can use language and action to invite into a story that shines a light on God as open and relational.
Communion is an act of worship which invites us to relationship. When received regularly and with intentional language, it will invite into an open and relational understanding of God and the Church. When considering the language and act of communion in your church, some practical concerns may need to be addressed. These concerns involve the prescribed forms, frequency, and mode of receiving in your context. I will attempt to keep those in mind and remember that any language suggestions should be tweaked for your particular church, denomination, or geographic region.
The invitation to communion is an invitation to a dinner table. While it may not nourish the body completely, it will nourish the soul. This requires language of invitation, meal, and welcome, but we weave those throughout most communion liturgies. The invitation is to a table which does not belong to us or the church, but it belongs to God. Here is where we can use the language of an open and relational God. If we use words like hospitality, feast, and hunger, we can convey the truth of the one whose table we gather around. When I am the “communion pastor” at our local church, I like to speak of the table in terms of one we gather around as friends and family. To put those who may not understand what is happening, we like to give some short remarks about what communion means and how God invites us to God’s table. As a church who receives weekly, we also create a rhythm which reinforces the idea of an open table of welcome.
Moving from the initial language of invitation brings us to the point of describing the communion meal. This may be through a formal or informal liturgy. While some ministries have more rigid language requirements, we can still adapt the language in formal liturgy to describe a God who is open and relational. A few practical ideas come in around the description of Jesus’ institution of the Lord’s Supper during the Last Supper. When I am speaking, I like to use the language of giving in selflessness as Diane Leclerc and Brent Peterson describe in their book The Back Side of the Cross. Instead of using the language of betrayal every week, I will use the language of solidarity more often. An example is to say “On the night when Jesus gave himself over in solidarity (standing with) all of us who have been enslaved and harmed by sin...”
Moving on to the last supper, Jesus gathered around a table with both supporters and people who may not have agreed with him. I will mention Judas as a betrayer if it feels appropriate. Your liturgy may require this, but it is an opportunity to show how God is with all. While transitioning from describing the last supper to inviting the church to receive, we realize the chance to purposefully use welcoming words. The mode of reception can affect how this invitation is delivered. If you pass the elements, it may be an invitation to a metaphorical dinner table encompassing the worship space. If the congregation moves forward in response, it is a welcome to come to the table for all.
This is where we can creatively utilize our language to describe the open and relational idea we want to convey. Our words may not always be the same, but the general idea we can weave into an invitation is like the following. “Church, God loves you and this meal is an invitation to God’s grace and mercy expressed through love. You are welcome to this table. Do not fear the table of God unless you harbor evil or would prevent others from coming to this table. God is with us and invites us like any dear friend to this meal. Jesus is present in this meal as we reflect his love toward one another. Come encounter the grace of a God who loves you and is with you working with you to become more loving.”
A special way to include children in the response is to find words to speak as they receive, which can explain the purpose of receiving. An example would be to say something like, “As you eat this bread and drink this juice (wine) God wants you to know how much you are loved. Jesus loves you and is glad you have come to eat at his table.” Come to think of it, this would not be a bad thing to say to everyone who comes to receive.
The more we speak of God who welcomes and is with us in relationship, the more that they will hear this message. The welcome of a meal at a table is a wonderful example of how an open and relational God acts in the world. When appropriate, events in the life of a church can impact the language. The table is a place where we meet the grieving, the joyful, the sinner, the sinned against, the abandoned, the abused, the comfortable, and the uncomfortable. It is a place of welcome, grace, and love poured out in abundance. It is an unfenceable table because it belongs to God, who has no fences.
The minister invited the congregation to receive and prepared to welcome them to the table. She watched as the congregation moved out from their seats. As was her custom, she glanced at the one she knew was struggling with closed visions of God. Her heart felt heavy for that person and she prayed she could hear the welcome of God in her heart. The minister glanced back to serve the bread and wine as the congregation came forward. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a movement that caught her heart for a moment. The woman slid slowly from her seat and joined the church as they moved forward. Tears were a real possibility in this moment, but the minister kept her focus on the congregants in front of her. Then the woman approached and held out her hands. “Jesus loves you more than you can ever understand. This is his body, which is broken for you.” “Amen” “This is the blood of Jesus poured out in solidarity for you.” “Amen.” A tear slowly made its way down the minister’s face as the woman ate and drank with a smile of contentment upon her face.
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