Making Room

This is a communion meditation that I shared at Mark and Sarah's 20th anniversary at Hazel Dell.

"My favorite image to think about when it comes to communion time is the table. It's as though every time we gather, the Lord has made this great meal for his family to enjoy around his table. He invites us to sit down and remember what Christ has done for us.

Now the mark of any good family is it's ability to make room for one more around the dinner table. Whether that one more is your son's friend from Jr. High who hangs around for a couple of meals in a row and then decides he never wants to leave. Or whether that one more is the boy that your only daughter keeps bringing around year after year. Or whether that one more is your son's high school sweetheart who has become more of a daughter than a daughter-in-law. A good family will always find room for one more.

In Mark 2, Jesus says that no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the skins will burst and the wine and the skins will be destroyed. Jesus knew that new wine meant new wineskins. A new era meant a new covenant. And a new family meant a new table, with plenty of chairs. In Romans, we learn that the Lord wanted to extend his family tree by grafting on branches, making the way for you and me to know be apart of his family. Or, to put it another way, he was looking for a way to add more chairs around the table.

This morning, there is a meal before us, prepared by the Lord, to be served around his table for his family. And, like any good family, there's always room for one more. So pull up a chair, and let's enjoy this time together."

Peace,

Neil