The Table is an Altar

Jesus tells a parable that gets inverted at the end with the master serving the slaves. It’s a picture of this crazy God whom we love, always serving us. Here’s how that parable ends:

The master will dress himself to give them food. He will say to them, “Sit at the table. I will come to serve you.” - Luke 12:37

Think about your place at the table -pondering how we share ‘the Lord’s Table’ each week at City Church. As a an invitation to think in some fresh ways, here’s an excerpt from a remarkable piece from the food scene in LA thinking about what it means to have a place at the table.

Growing up, I insisted on my specific seat at my family dining table, which was rectangular and built from a deep red Brazilian wood. My parents and sister laughed at me for my insistence. The thing is, we moved every few years, and while we carried our furniture with us to other cities and countries, our dining room table took on a new configuration in each new space. It didn’t make sense – the seat I was claiming wasn’t ever really the same one. But I knew with certainty which was my seat. Maybe it was one of the things I decided I could make my own, make stable. That in the moment of eating dinner – a nightly, unbroken ritual – I could feel oriented, in my place.

The best kind of table gives you permission. It allows you to reach for a history, bring what is far near. A table by eases you, opens your mind and compels you to come take a seat and play.

- Elisa Wouk Almino, from The Table is an Altar