to clean and prep. But many of us also don’t have people over because then we’d have to provide a meal—an actual, literal meal. We think we don’t want people to see the way we really live, but God wants to know us in just that intimate way. God came to us in the form of Jesus in part to show us the best way to live human lives. Now, as we find ourselves living these lives at an increasingly hectic pace, we can follow Jesus’ example and come back to the dinner table. Educators remind us of the dinner table’s value in forming young minds. Children who eat at a communal table do better in school, do better at resisting peer pres- sure and just do better overall. The dinner table also provides opportunities to practice and model spiritual behavior. And it works better if we’re eating at a table, not at a sports field or in the car.


Let’s say grace We begin by saying grace, a simple thank you for the meal we’re about to receive. No need to look very far to see what happens when humans don’t develop a sense of gratitude—they live in a self-centered, entitled, chroni- cally disappointed way. Maybe a prayer of thanks before every meal is like a vaccination against brattiness—set- ting our children on the path to becoming grateful grown- ups.


Blessing the meal also invites blessings on a larger


scale. Asking God to bless the hands that prepared the meal reminds us of the efforts that go into our daily upkeep. Asking God to bless those who don’t have enough to eat throughout the world fosters a sense of grat- itude. We begin to form a consciousness of social justice in ourselves and our children. Over dinner we can talk about the right ways to behave while discussing how we spent our days. We can encour- age compassion in our children and ourselves while pon- dering aloud the ways of the world. We can share where our food comes from and our call to care for God’s cre- ation as it gives us nourishment. After the meal, we foster responsibility and good stew- ardship patterns as we clear the dishes and clean up. And we can go even further. We can invite people to our dinner tables to share a meal.


Be our guests I think we forget how radical Christ was in this practice. By inviting outcasts to share a meal, by sharing a dinner where


people all along the social spectrum sit at the same table, Jesus threatened to overturn the whole social order. And Jesus calls us to do the same. Sharing a meal provides pow- erful medicine for the mental woes that afflict our modern culture.


Who to invite? Many of us live hundreds or thousands of miles away from our nearest relatives. Many of us have only the most tenuous social connections. We live among the lonely, and we are likely lonely ourselves. Break that loneliness for you and others by sharing a meal. Where to start? It doesn’t have to be complicated. In most towns, grocery stores offer ready-made food: roasted or fried chicken, a package of salad, brownies from the bakery, and dinner is done. For a vegetarian option, spread a can or two of refried beans on a dish and top it with salsa and grated cheese. Heat in the oven or microwave until the cheese melts. Open a bag of tortilla chips. Dinner couldn’t be simpler. Or you could rediscover the joys of the potluck, where everyone brings a dish to share.


It’s easier than you think But perhaps you’re still terrified. For many of us, inviting other adults to dinner means coming up with something to talk about. Maybe we’ve read Martin Luther’s table talks and know we could never have such an erudite conversa- tion at the end of a frazzled day. Well, here’s some good news: we don’t have to aim that high. Like our kids, most adults are happy just to discuss the contents of their day with someone who will listen and care.


When we think of spiritual disciplines, many of us con- template things that are hard: meditating for hours a day or twisting our bodies into various yoga shapes. We berate ourselves for not yet managing to tithe. We try to remember to pray several times a day but often forget to pray once. But sharing a meal can be easy. We all have to eat, after all, and that break for meals helps launch us toward other spiritual disciplines that will nourish us: praying more often, living in fellowship and helping the poor (in pocket- book and in spirit) by inviting them to our table. There’s an old spiritual that uses the idea of a welcome table as a metaphor for heaven. The good news Jesus brings us is that we don’t have to wait for heaven to expe- rience kingdom living. Over and over, Jesus reminds us that God’s kingdom is already here, breaking through our imperfect world. Want a taste of our future feast to come? Set your welcome table, right here, in your kitchen or din- ing room. M


Download a study guide for this article—free to print subscribers and supporting Web members—at www.thelutheran.org (click on “study guides”).


February 2011 17


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