Come To The Table

                 Come To The Table
Dear Friends,
      Jesus calls us to come to the table.  Come and dine with Him.  I used to hear a hymn with the lyrics. "Come and dine, the Master calleth, come and dine.  You may feast with Jesus all the time."
     The tiny oak tree sprouted up in my garden and the leaves are turning brown as the days are colder now.  Under the ground is an acorn that is broken and decaying that allowed the sprout to grow up out of the ground.  
     Jesus fed the multitudes and turned the water into wine.  He broke bread and gave it to His friends.  He spoke to the disciples of the suffering that was to come, how He would be leaving them but would rise again and meet with them again.  
     He didn't just give them dry crumbs of the bread.  He gave them a glimpse into His pain. He was willing to be broken and vulnerable before those He was close to.  This was the kind of community He desired the Body of Christ to be.  One where we are willing to be authentic with one another.  I believe that He is the Bread of Life, our example.  Let's truly break bread with the community of believers around us. 
    When Jesus shared the beautiful words of the Beatitudes with the multitude He was repeating the message that if you are grieving, hurting and wounded, He would bless you.  We need to be a compassionate community where broken people are able to heal and sprout up like an oak tree!
Isaiah 61:3
"To all who mourn in Israel, He will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair.  In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for His glory."
Jeremiah 17:7-8
"But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.  They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water.  Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought."