Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house,
that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat
down with Him and His disciples. Matthew 9:10
I have a friend who serves in a different faith tradition, but one which influences me every day. She is Moravian, and those of us in the United Methodist family would do well to do a little research and find out how that tradition influenced John Wesley in such a significant way. Maybe to be refreshed in your memory, or simply to get started, you could begin here.
https://www.umnews.org/en/news/a-little-known-big-influence-on-john-wesley
I share this because my pastoral colleague is in the process of transitioning from serving an established congregation to helping plant one from scratch. I once was privileged to do the same. She is being asked to launch a congregation utilizing as a primary evangelistic tool something which Lance Ford and Brad Brisco describe in this way:
If there is any such thing as an evangelistic tool,
we are convinced that the most powerful evangelistic
tool – the one Jesus used more than any – is
something 99.9 percent of Christians have in their
homes: a dining table.
from Next Door As In Heaven
Watch how one group envisions the power of this “evangelistic tool.” Could you see your table(s) being used in such a way? Our Lord lived and walked as a Middle-easterner. In that part of the world – then and now – to sit and eat at table together means that we are members of one another’s family for the rest of our days. These days in which we are living invite us to pause a bit longer before we share meals in the ways we did prior to the pandemic. But these are the days we make ready for feasting in the future. Now is the time to pray and to plan; to be strategic in recognizing the power of joining with others at table. In the near future, when you eat at someone’s table, or host someone at your own – what meanings will it carry? Could it be that Christ will welcome us there? Could this be a threshold Jesus is inviting us to move through?
Still In ONE Peace,
Jon (the Methodist)
If you would like to view past editions of How Sweet the Sound, follow this link: https://sounddistrictnc.org/category/from-the-ds/