Estes Echo

Setting the Table

Tables. They aren’t complicated items like smart phones and plasma, flat-screen televisions. They aren’t the piece of furniture we spend the most time using. But some of my fondest memories have been made while sitting at tables. Tables are a gathering place, where people come together to be nourished…yes, physically, but for me, the social nourishment around the table is just as important as the food. Growing up, our family dinner table was the setting for prayers, sharing stories about the day’s events, lots of laughter, and of course, lessons about good manners. And, although the process was repeated day after day, I would definitely have missed the absence of a single meal. Today, I continue to look forward to the times I spend with my family around our table. I arrive at the table hungry, but always leave full.

We have the opportunity every Sunday to come together at a different table, the Lord’s Table. Like our dinner table, the Lord’s Table isn’t fancy. But its purpose is profound. We arrive at the table hungry. Hungry for purpose, hungry for forgiveness, hungry for time to reflect on our gratitude for God’s grace, hungry to bond with those of like faith. When we join our Christian family at this table, we arrive hungry, but leave full…full of purpose, full of forgiveness, full of gratitude for God’s grace, and full of love for our Christian family.

At times, I have found myself leaving the Lord’s Table unsatisfied. Those are the times that I came to the table, but failed to take advantage of the spiritual nourishment provided by experiencing the body and blood of Jesus. I allowed my mind to wander to worldly concerns, rather than focusing on the purpose of the commemoration. Let this message encourage each of us to reexamine our mindset, and renew our focus as we participate in the Lord’s Supper.

–Lee Hibbett