Come and Sit

Table Talk


Setting the Table

You are welcome here. Come just as you are, bringing whatever is on your heart today. Take a few moments and allow yourself to just be. Take a couple deep breaths, grab yourself a cup of coffee, light a candle, do something that brings you comfort. Allow yourself to be present in this moment.  


Consider the immediate peace you feel when someone gives you permission to simply be. 

For everyone born, a place at the table.
For everyone born, clean water and bread,
a shelter, a space, a safe place for growing.
For everyone born, a star overhead.
And God will delight when we are creators
of justice and joy, compassion and peace.
Yes, God will delight when we are creators
of justice - justice and joy!
For Everyone Born, A Place At The Table by Shirley Erena Murray 

Matthew 25:35
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.

Matthew 22:39 
Love thy neighbor as thyself.


Food for Thought

I was generously welcomed at a stranger’s table during a recent trip to a Caribbean island. As I sat at the wooden kitchen table with the warm aromas of the meal that had been prepared, I found myself being transported to decades before when I was a youth minister teaching children from an urban, low-income neighborhood about table manners.

The class was called Dressing the Table. The other youth ministers and I had “dressed up” several tables in the fellowship hall of the local church with tablecloths, cloth napkins, fine china, and more. The goal was to prepare the children for the various dining possibilities they might encounter in life so that a simple invitation to “come and sit” would not be met with shame, timidity, or embarrassment.

As I sat at this table, those memories of teaching flooded my mind. I was now sitting at a table completely unfamiliar to me, I was hungry and waiting to be fed by a stranger, and I was in a home far away from my own. The details of the wood carvings in the legs of the table captured my eyes. The colorful dishes were stacked on one side of the table with matching colorful cloth napkins, and my heart smiled as my host welcomed me warmly and graciously invited me to sit anywhere around the table.

It was a beautiful gift of hospitality. As I took in that welcome, it occurred to me that in our classes, we had failed to offer our youth the broader understanding of the table experience. The invitation to come to the table can be formal and elegant, or it can be simple and modest, but the most meaningful are those that offer us a place to come just as we are.

At this meal, I had been offered the comfort of being at ease. With the simple instruction to “sit anywhere” - to find myself at home around that table - I had truly known what Jesus meant when he commanded us to “love thy neighbor as thyself.” The embodiment of the gospel is a great reminder to all of us of God’s presence both during the sacred time of fellowship, and in the obedient acts of preparation and service.

What generous hospitality was lived out that afternoon with that simple act of welcome. May we invite many to come and sit and be as they wish around our tables. And through that welcome, may God’s grace be lived and be seen.


Imagine setting a table. Consider how the setting might make your guests feel. Is the table formal or modest? What might the table setting convey? How can God’s presence be felt at each table?

Perhaps throw a dinner party - as big or small as you’d like! Be intentional about creating a space where your guests feel comfortable to be themselves.


Blessing

Loving God, I am thankful for memories that help us relive moments temporarily forgotten, and lived with you. Let us be mindful that we come to your table when we gather and sit to be fed. May we embody grace toward all who are at the table with us.


A little Table Talk for your table...

  • Share an experience when you felt welcomed at a stranger’s table.

  • Discuss ways that you can be mindful of others when you “set your table”?

  • Share with a friend the various dining traditions of your family or your culture. How have those traditions shaped how you experience the world or other people?

Try taking it to the Kids Table...

  • Make a fun, educational game out of setting the table with your kiddo. Teach them the history or traditions about the way you chose to set the table. How would your kids choose to set their table for others?

  • Imagine with your child what it might be like to host a dinner party for any guests they might want to invite. Think together about ways you can make your guests feel at home.

  • Share the story of the oldest dishware in your cupboard.

Meet Our Welcoming Voice!

Rev. Sandra Dorsainvil is the Director of Short-Term Mission at International Ministries. She holds advanced degrees in psychology, rehabilitation counseling, and pastoral ministry. Sandra is an ordained minister with ABC-USA, a retreat leader, and published author. She recently released Beacons of Hope, a 12-day devotional that gives voice to 15 women lighthouse keepers of the 19th and 20th century, juxtaposing their stories with those of unnamed women in the bible. If you'd like to connect with Sandra about her book, you can e-mail her directly at authorsandrad@gmail.com.

To hear more from Rev. Dorsainvil throughout the week, follow along on our Instagram!
You can also check out her past TWT reflection A Gigantic Step of Faith!

Here are Five Things to Remember When Setting Your Own Welcome Table!

Rev. Sandra Dorsainvil