Table Fellowship: Setting the Table 4

“Choosing suppliers who have common ground, shared values.” - from "Setting the Table".

One of the ways that hospitality gets extended is by doing away with the idea of insiders and outsiders. When John writes in chapter three of his gospel, "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.", he expresses God's inclusiveness. This breaking down the "dividing walls of hostility" as Paul puts it. (Check out the song "Walls" on Tommy Emmanuel's cd in my music collection!)

How does this take place. Meyer partners with suppliers who have common values and share ground philosophically. What does this mean for the church? There are lots of people who care about people in our world. They don't all carry the name Christian or even have a religious tag at all. But they are concerned with things like justice, righteousness, goodness, fairness, love. Maybe not to the full extent of God's love, but we know that all love is born out of God's love. Wherever we find it, wherever we find truth, there is at least a hint of the God of the scriptures. When Jesus says he is the Truth, well, he is. Who are the people that we can partner with?

There are two ways to go on this at least. One way would be to find those people in our community, Christian or not, who are engaged in justice, righteousness, compassion and the like, and come alongside their work. Become a support presence in the work of others. So often we think we have to attach the name Christian to an activity to make it appropriate for our involvement. This is not Jesus' criteria.

A second way would be to invite those around us who may be outside the church to participate with us in acts of compassion and justice and righteousness. A friend of mine was thinking with me the other day about the impact of inviting a neighbor to help with a Habitat build or serving a meal at the Salvation Army. How often do people outside the church get invited to make that kind of selfless impact? How often do people outside the church get a chance to feel good about what they do? This kind of collaboration has the power to break down walls that divide and bring others closer to the kingdom of God.

Of course all of this is contingent upon those of us in the Church being involved in the world in acts of righteousness, compassion, and justice. Maybe that is why there are so few collaborations? Hmmm...