If you think about it, we United Methodists could easily be called “Potluck People.” I mean, we really can cook, right? But we can also LOVE like nobody’s business.
When we have shared potlucks throughout the generations, the intent was to come together and strengthen our relationships with each other. We have always welcomed outsiders, and if it gets crowded, we simply pull up some extra chairs.
The entire philosophy of The United Methodist Church is to, in fact, build bigger tables. Not just for SOME people….but for ALL people. Not unlike a potluck dinner, when we open our hearts to everyone, we never really know what’s under the lid, but we are committed to sharing the love of Christ, no matter how salty, how spicy, or how sweet those hearts are when they come through the door.
We welcome people who can bring enough food for a dozen, as well as those who come empty-handed or carrying a pack of saltines, because that is all they have to share. We don’t love them less; in fact, we tend to immediately wrap them in not only our love but that of Jesus Christ, because just as our hands and feet are his to use, so are our arms that have the ability to bring people close in love with hugs.
The term “potluck” actually originates from 16th-century England. Here we thought our homecomings and family reunions created the potluck! It referred to a meal for an unexpected guest. The host used whatever was available to feed them, and they got the “luck of the pot!”
Imagine…welcoming an unexpected guest and using whatever you had available to feed them. Remember when Jesus sent his disciples out and he told them to take nothing with them and to eat whatever people offered them without complaint?
Eating together was and still can be a time to teach important lessons. We can find scriptures where people were eating together throughout both the Old and New Testaments. They teach us lessons of faith, gratitude, community, and inclusion.
People all around us and outside of our doors are hurting from the divisiveness in the world. Loving boldly right now requires courage, faith, creativity, and a willingness to be uncomfortable, if we are being honest. But we, my friends, are not only Christians, we are United Methodists who know how to Lead with Courage, Love Boldly, and how to serve with JOY.
One of my great joys as the Lay Leader for the Sound is witnessing the amazing ways our congregations love Jesus, each other, and our neighbors.
We are potluck people in a world that needs the willingness to invite unexpected guests to pull up a chair or to build a bigger table!
It’s in those moments that we can all experience what the Kingdom of God CAN look like right here and right now.
Right here. Right now.
Kim
Kim R. Smith is the Sound District Lay Leader