The Unexpected Communion
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.
Take a moment to consider all of the life happening around you - then, in a breath or prayer, express gratitude for its beauty and worth.
Nothing exists by itself alone. We all belong to each other; we cannot cut reality into pieces.
― Thich Nhat Hanh
Mark 14:22-25
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."
Food for Thought
In the spring of each year, we experience the rebirth of grass, flowers, trees, and other forms of life. However, to arrive in spring, we must journey through winter. While spring reveals signs of new and unexpected life, winter reveals signs of dying and death. Grass loses its green luster. Flowers lose their petals. Trees lose their leaves. And so it is, on this Lenten journey, we find ourselves experiencing death amidst life. Through prayer and practice, our own agendas, possessions, fears, and spiritual hang-ups pass away as we welcome God’s life-giving ways.
However, as I scan the news, read the paper, listen to conversations, and live in the world as a Black man, it seems to me that our communal will to welcome life is waning. The warmth of spring is being delayed by the bone-chilling cold of winter. In our state, nation, and world, there are communities being dehumanized because of their race, ethnicity, gender, and class. There are individuals living in our neighborhoods who are demonized because they do not speak English; are unmarried with children; were born in a foreign country; are LGBTQ+; are disabled. As I reflect on the journey of Lent, I am persuaded that God is inviting us to begin - again - the process of welcoming life by assessing the patterns of our existence.
Over the years, as a Lenten practice, I have removed something from my diet, which I believed would positively alter my spiritual, emotional, and physical patterns of existence. I have removed items like processed sugars, meats, and alcohol.
A few years ago, I felt a nudge to add something to my diet - I felt the nudge to pause and be more intentional in my interactions with the persons working behind the counters at the places in which I eat. I realized that, too often, I rushed in and out of these spaces without fully seeing and observing God’s people.
One Saturday in the spring of 2016, I was at Panera Bread. As I ordered a coffee and a blueberry muffin, I asked the cashier, a young Black man, about the music being played and his favorite genre of music. He smiled and began engaging me in conversation. I completed my order and decided to stay, instead of being in a hurry to keep it moving. As I sat, the young Black man came over to continue our conversation, taking orders and cleaning the dining room in between.
For the first time, by pausing and being intentional, I saw what I had not seen before. Panera Bread had a sign which read, “At Panera we celebrate bread every day. Think about the way its smell intoxicates innocent bystanders. The way it brings crustiness and softness together into one perfect bite. The way it balances other foods with its warm, collaborative flavor, making them more than what they would ever have been on their own. Everything we make, everything we serve, everything we do to make you smile – it’s all related. And it all starts with bread.” In that moment, I realized that the two of us had welcomed each other to an unexpected breaking of bread, and an unexpected communion.
The heartbeat of the Lenten journey is communion. Communion with Christ. Communion with others. Communion with ourselves. Communion brings us together around a set of beliefs and values – equity, love, forgiveness, compassion, wholeness. In a world where people are broken apart by systemic and systematic oppression, communion can bring us to one another. Communion led to new ways for sharing life in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, and I believe that it can lead to new ways for sharing life today.
As we journey toward God’s life-giving ways, let us welcome the practices of our faith that transform our individual and communal lives in 2022!
“The Unexpected Communion” Journaling Page provides seven daily thoughts of reflection and journaling prompts that tie back into this week’s story! You can print it, forward it to a friend, use it as inspiration for your own journaling practice (or group conversations), or maybe just use it as food for thought in your own quiet time!
Our schedules tend to be packed to the brim, encouraging us to speed through life. At some point during your day, pause and observe all the people around you. Take a moment to consider their untold stories, and acknowledge them as blessed children of God.
Blessing
Life-giving and sustaining God, teach us not to be afraid of the anointing that requires a part of us to pass away, but open our hearts to the life you have created through communion with Jesus Christ. Amen!
A little Table Talk for your table...
Discuss how we as a people can be more intentional about truly seeing those in our community who tend to get overlooked. What ripple effect do you think this would cause within and beyond our communities?
Share about a time that you paused in the midst of your busy life to fully take in the moment and the people around you.
How did you feel God in the details of that experience?
Try taking it to the Kids Table...
Go for a walk and challenge your kiddos to take notice of their surroundings. Have them list all of what they see and hear.
Play a game of I Spy together while on your walk, or wherever you may find yourself at this moment.
Discuss together where they see God at work - in the life of the trees, in the people on the street, in the song of the birds.
Meet Our Welcoming Voice!
Rev. Dr. Oliver M. Thomas earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, a Master of Divinity from Wake Forest University School of Divinity, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Studies with a Cultural Foundations concentration from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He is a member of the American Educational Studies Association, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, the General Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, and the American Baptist Churches USA. He has taught high school, undergraduate, and graduate students. Currently, he serves as the Associate Pastor for Young Adult Ministry at Providence Baptist Church of Greensboro and the Interim Director of External Affairs at North Carolina A&T State University. He is married to the lovely D’Najah Pendergrass Thomas. They have one child, Ayden Oliver Thomas, who is the heartbeat of their lives.
To hear more from Rev. Dr. Thomas throughout the week, follow along on our Instagram!
If you have a story that you would like to be included as a Reader's Write feature, we would love for you to send it our way! You can email us directly at thewelcometableco@gmail.com.
Here are Five Things to Remember When Setting Your Own Welcome Table!