Who Is Missing from the Table?

Our pastor's sermon yesterday focused on the idea of the wedding party--who gets invited and who doesn't.  He reminded us that congregations struggle with who's supposed to be at the table, and then he gave us some examples from other churches that he's served.

He asked us to consider who is missing from the table.  He reminded us that Jesus calls us all to the table.  That's the vision of Kingdom living that so many of us forget.

He probably looked out over the congregation and saw too many people smiling smugly at these tales from other churches, too many of us thinking surely our church would never do that.  I know of at least one or two examples of people who have been less than welcome, so I knew he wouldn't let us get away with that.

I admired how he handled that task.  After asking who is missing from the table, he said, "It is a foolish church that believes we've done all we can do to invite people to the party."

So, today, I'll spend some time thinking about who is missing from the table, who doesn't even know there is a table.