The Kingdom of God at Your Table

I remember one Wednesday night at church. We had just finished dinner in the fellowship hall, and our Parish Associate, Pastor Bob Smith, had us sing "Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God."

I looked around at the people seated at those tables. People I had come to know and love over many years. I could feel the warmth in that room. And I wondered: Is this what the Kingdom of God will be like?

And then another question: Will I see them again one day… in that Kingdom?

The prophet Isaiah dreamed of that day. He pictured a mountain, and a banquet. "On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines…" And there, Isaiah says, God "will wipe away the tears from all faces." (Isaiah 25:6, 8)

All peoples. Every face. Every tear.

That's the table we're headed toward. But we don't have to wait for it to begin. In the book of Revelation, the risen Christ says, "Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me." (Revelation 3:20)

These past few days, we've been praying, "Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest." This is his answer. He's already at the door.

Again, may you come to see the table as a kind of altar. And may you remember that time spent around it alone, or with family and friends, is time spent in the presence of Christ. May you remember that our meals are a foretaste of a Kingdom that is coming, a Kingdom of blessing and grace… 

Prayer: Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest, in our homes and churches, around our tables, and in our everyday lives. Open our eyes to your presence, even here, even now. And one day, gather us all at your table, where every tear is wiped away. Amen.