Crowded Table is the name of a song we learned at the parish retreat where our theme was The Great Commandment – to love God with all our being and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Ashley Wade, Jen McPherson, and Olin Johannessen sang Crowded Table in church the following weekend (at BOTH services!). (Visit the Photos page on the website for a recorded version). The chorus goes:
I want a house with a crowded table
And a place by the fire for everyone
Let’s take on the world while we are all able
And bring us back together when the day is done.
I shared with you last month my gratitude for the daily prayer book from the Corrymeela Community in Northern Ireland. The prayers written by Padraig O’Tuama, the leader of the community, are rich and deep and very moving. A recent prayer resonates with this song. The scripture that informs the prayer is from the Gospel of John, Chapter 14. On the night before he died, Jesus gathered with his friends and reassured them with these words:
‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.’ John 14:27
Jesus spoke words of peace to his friends, a very fearful group of people. His words are for us, too, as fear is part of the human condition, serving to keep us safe in certain circumstances but used to influence us unduly in others. I think this is why the Bible has so many reassurances about being fearful, anxious and worried – because we often are. The counter to fear is love, the knowledge of God’s unconditional love for us and the love available to us when we plant the seeds of love:
‘If it’s love that we give
Then it’s love that we reap
If we want a garden
We’re gonna have to sow the seed.’
Padraig O’Tuama captures the reality of that sense of fear and the hope that comes when we draw together around the table:
Jesus, you shared peace around a table of anxiety,
Peace with the bread, peace with the wine,
Peace in the face of the uncertain, peace in the place of pain.
May we share tables of peace in places of pain,
Sharing food and friendship and words and life.
Because you came to a fearful world
And found your place around those tables.
Amen.
I look forward to joining you at the table – all are welcome at Common Table on Thursdays at noon, all are welcome at the All-Parish Supper on Sunday, November 17 at 5 pm and all are welcome at St. John’s, especially at the Lord’s Table.