Jesus’ Call to Community - Four: A Community of Hospitality

11 Mar

Opening Prayer:

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.
For food in a world where many walk in hunger;
For faith in a world where many walk in fear;
For friends in a world where many walk alone;
We give You thanks, O Lord.
You have invited us in; may we invite others in too.
Amen.

Key Scripture:

“12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”

16 Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’

18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’

19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’

20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’

21 “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’

22 “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’

23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’””

— Luke 14:12-24

Summary:

We are called together to be a new community of God’s enlarged, expanded family. One of the practices at the core of the new community Jesus called together is gathering together for meals.

At the table we meet one another, we thank God for one another, and we grow our love for our Lord and for his family. By opening our homes and tables and lives to each other we allow space for the Spirit of God to grow his family, bind us together and empower us for His work.

God has invited us all to His table - are we ready to accept His invitation and invite others?

Practices to Consider:

Repurpose a meal together with others as communion
- Get together with your family, or a group of friends or other followers of Jesus in your neighborhood, set a night for dinner, and practice communion.
Here are a few prayers you could use throughout your meal from “Gathering for Worship - Patterns and Prayers for the Community of Disciples”
- A Prayer of Thanksgiving:
  Loving God, we praise and thank You,
  for Your love shown to us in Jesus Christ.
  We thank You for His life and ministry,
  announcing the good news of Your kingdom,
  and demonstrating its power in the lifting of the downtrodden,
  the healing of the sick, and the loving of the loveless.
  We thank You for His sacrificial death upon the cross,
  for the redemption of the world and for Your raising Him to life again,
  as a foretaste of the glory we shall share.
  We give You thanks for this table and cup,
  symbols of our world and signs of Your transforming love.
  Send Your Holy Spirit, we pray,
  that we may be renewed into the likeness of Jesus Christ,
  and formed into His body.
  This we pray in His name and for His sake.
  Amen.
- A Concluding Prayer:
  Loving God,
  we thank you that you have nourished us at this table.
  We pray for those who hunger and thirst – may they be filled!
  And may we, with them, feast at the table of your eternal kingdom.
  This we ask through Jesus Christ, who was and is and is to come,
  and who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
  God for ever and ever.
  Amen.

Questions to Consider:

What is significant about meals together for you?
Why might they be significant for us today?
How often do you invite strangers, or people you don’t yet know, to share a meal with you?
What excuses did people give for turning down the invitation? What excuses do we give today? Why?
Who is missing from our tables?

Prayer Prompts:

For the Kingdom to come around our tables and in our homes as we invite others in.
That our hospitality would be a sign of the final banquet all are invited to.

Additional Resources

You can find a printable version of this guide here

Hayley Lotter