Whose Table Is It?
Thursday, July 09, 2009
I just returned from a wonderful summer adventure with family and close friends. We are blessed to have the opportunity to frequent a small island in the Grenadines called Bequia. It is a sailing destination, so during off season it is very, very quiet and unspoiled. The people there are beautiful, and upon first interaction they may seem somewhat timid and skeptical. Over the years, we have made some good friends and integrated ourselves into the community as much as a group of sporadically visiting foreigners can.
Bequia i
s a material-poor island relative to U.S. standards, and many of our friendships have grown out of service relationships with the people we have been blessed to know, and who have been willing to assist us as we learn. We have prepared meals a number of times together with these friends, and more than once an individual or two did not readily feel they could join us at the table. It was never discussed, they simply sat off to the side. We quietly assure them, "In this home, please sit at our table."
This experience has prompted a blog entry which I have been hesitant to write.
A few months back, I was at the funeral of a friend and patient I treated who had sadly finished his fight with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). I sat in a grand church beside the angels who cared for him through the ASL Association and home health hospice. It was a beautiful Catholic ceremony, and I felt privileged to be among those who had the opportunity to know this humorous and courageous gentleman and his special family.
As I have mentioned before, I was raised Catholic, and I am humbled by how much the church has done and continues to do for people throughout the world. Even though I am not a practicing Catholic any longer, I am a stronger and more confident Christ follower than ever before in my life.
When it came time to celebrate communion, the priest made it very clear,
"If you are Catholic, you are welcome to receive communion."
I sat.
I was, for the first time, uncertain of what to do. I have always felt comfortable coming back to the Catholic church because of my faith in His message, and more important, His knowing the contents of my heart. But this statement was so exclusive...
So I sat. I did not receive.
Out of respect for the "house" I was in that day, the house I grew up in, I chose not to approach their table.
It was this exclusivity that pulled me away from the Catholic faith as a teenager, and later as a young adult, Christianity in general. Fortunately, the grace of God, the love of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit are magnetic,
and they show themselves to me everyday and in every soul I touch.
My questions to you are these,
"Whose table is it?"
"Was not everyone invited to His table?"
His table, like this rainbow, simply invite us to open our eyes to its beauty and soften our hearts to its mysteries.
We have a very informed and savvy next generation. If we are to steal their hearts for Christ, we must teach and model that we are called to be His body of love and compassion on this planet, not a robot of belief systems and exclusion.
This may be a controversial topic. Your thoughts and comments are important to me.
Respectfully, Michele
Bequia i
This experience has prompted a blog entry which I have been hesitant to write.
A few months back, I was at the funeral of a friend and patient I treated who had sadly finished his fight with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). I sat in a grand church beside the angels who cared for him through the ASL Association and home health hospice. It was a beautiful Catholic ceremony, and I felt privileged to be among those who had the opportunity to know this humorous and courageous gentleman and his special family.
As I have mentioned before, I was raised Catholic, and I am humbled by how much the church has done and continues to do for people throughout the world. Even though I am not a practicing Catholic any longer, I am a stronger and more confident Christ follower than ever before in my life.
When it came time to celebrate communion, the priest made it very clear,
"If you are Catholic, you are welcome to receive communion."
I sat.
I was, for the first time, uncertain of what to do. I have always felt comfortable coming back to the Catholic church because of my faith in His message, and more important, His knowing the contents of my heart. But this statement was so exclusive...
So I sat. I did not receive.
Out of respect for the "house" I was in that day, the house I grew up in, I chose not to approach their table.
It was this exclusivity that pulled me away from the Catholic faith as a teenager, and later as a young adult, Christianity in general. Fortunately, the grace of God, the love of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit are magnetic,
My questions to you are these,
"Whose table is it?"
"Was not everyone invited to His table?"
His table, like this rainbow, simply invite us to open our eyes to its beauty and soften our hearts to its mysteries.
We have a very informed and savvy next generation. If we are to steal their hearts for Christ, we must teach and model that we are called to be His body of love and compassion on this planet, not a robot of belief systems and exclusion.
This may be a controversial topic. Your thoughts and comments are important to me.
Respectfully, Michele
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