Therefore, Go!
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 how the act of pursuing something requires intentional steps forward.
“You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”
- C. S. Lewis
Matthew 28:18-20
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Food for Thought
Over the past eight weeks, we have walked through the Lenten series, Etched, together. We read stories that remind us that we are each etched on the heart of God. (If you missed any, you can catch up here!) Together, we journeyed to the cross, and from the cross to the tomb. At the tomb, we found Christ resurrected! But now that Easter has passed, we can often be left questioning, “What now?”
I imagine the disciples were feeling this same way. They each left all they knew to follow Jesus. They were with Jesus when he performed miracles and as he taught the multitudes. They must have felt that this Jesus – whom God favored – was untouchable, and yet they watched as he was beaten and crucified. After his resurrection, Jesus rejoined the disciples only to ascend into the heavens a short time later, leaving them again – but this time with “The Great Commission” to go and make disciples.
This crew had been on quite the emotional roller coaster, and I imagine they were asking the question, “What do we do now?” And Jesus, who had been by their side to guide them, was no longer there to tell them the next right thing to do.
This year, I did one of the most vulnerable things a parent can do – I dropped my daughter off at her first day of kindergarten. As melodramatic as that sounds, there are few things that feel more vulnerable than leaving your child in a new place and in the hands of new people. You can’t be there to make sure they remember their manners. You can’t be sure they are playing nicely with others or that others are playing nicely with them. You can’t protect them from the pains of growing up or from the tragedies with which our nation has become all too familiar. You just have to hope and pray that over the last five years you have taught them the right things that will prepare them for the journey they are about to undertake – that when they ask themselves, “What do I do now?”, they will have the tools to rise to the task and move forward.
This is the same challenge I hear in The Great Commission – I hear Jesus saying to each one of us, “You have been walking with me, and I have given you the tools.” I imagine Jesus saying, “Remember when I fed the hungry? Remember when I welcomed the outcast? Remember when I commanded you to love your neighbor?... Go and do these things, and teach others to do the same!”
“Therefore, go!”
There is something transformative about pursuing Jesus. When we strive to see the world through his eyes and with his heart, when we seek to understand how and why Jesus cared for those who had been forgotten – why he welcomed the tax collector and the children alike – we catch a glimpse of an unrelenting, unconditional love. We experience a wild, transformative love that doesn’t always make sense, a love that is offered to all people and all nations – a love that, when shared, is irresistible and contagious.
Many of you have been a part of The Welcome Table community since the beginning, but there are many new voices that have joined us along the way. As we move into this spring season of transformation, with the reminder of The Great Commission, we want The Welcome Table to be a place where people can come and experience unrelenting, unconditional love – the same love Jesus commanded us to offer to our neighbor regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, political party, or religion.
We want to offer opportunities to grow in our understanding of one another while opening ourselves to diverse perspectives through the sharing of stories. We want to provide you with ways to spark conversations in your own communities that might lead to bridging differences. In the same way that Jesus didn’t limit his table, we want whoever finds our table to know they have a seat waiting for them.
Above all, we want to pursue the love of Jesus in a way that is contagious, in a way that not only transforms our hearts, but also transforms the world around us.
Therefore, we will go!
Loving your neighbor is an action – sometimes it can be outside of our comfort zone, or it can feel intimidating and scary. Start small. Make a list of four ways you can be intentional about loving your neighbor. Do one of those things a week.
If you need help thinking of ways you can love your community, think of how Jesus spent his time with others – through food, through conversation, through prayer, etc. Use his life as inspiration for how you can be intentional in yours.
For a printable version of today's reflection Click Here!
Blessing
Loving God,
You have given us the tools we need
to share your love in the world around us.
Help us to actively be your hands and feet.
Help us to see the need and fill it,
to hear the voices and pay attention,
to learn the lessons and share them.
Help us be a part of transforming the world around us.
A little Table Talk for your table...
Talk together or journal about what it means to pursue Jesus.
Make a list of the ways you can be more intentional about trying to see the world through the eyes and heart of Jesus – prayer, reading, spending time in the community, etc.
Think of a friend or a colleague who may have a different perspective on an issue that is important to you. If you trust and respect one another, invite them to lunch to discuss your differences. Try to see the issue through their lens (this does not mean that you have to agree, but it’s important to expand your understanding of the issue).
Try taking it to the Kids Table...
Ask your kiddos to tell you what it means to love your neighbor.
Talk together about Jesus – the way he loved the ones around him, and the way he loves you and me.
Take some time to draw a picture or bake some cookies for someone else.
Meet Our Welcoming Voice!
Kendall Grubb is our CEO! She, her husband, and their daughter are a military family who calls Nashville, TN home. Earning degrees in music and business administration from Belmont University, she jumps at any opportunity she gets to create something new and help bring it to life. From writing and performing music to leading TWT, she loves the power that song and story have to connect people from all walks of life!
To hear more from Kendall throughout the week, follow along on our Instagram!
Here are Five Things to Remember When Setting Your Own Welcome Table!