Dining Room Table
“I like to think my love for the table was formed by Jesus and Nebraska.”
The dining room table is the center of my home. It holds the constant reminder of the centrality of provision, welcome, and belonging nestled into the presence of God who is with me.
The table holds a significant place in the history of Judeo-Christian thought. In the Old Testament, the table was a place of blessing, a mini tabernacle. A meeting place with God and others, a place where all who gather around are seen as equal. This posture is why Jesus’ freedom to invite anyone to join him at a table was so controversial. When Jesus ate with someone, he was acknowledging that they had a place with him, in the mini tabernacle. This ideology did not go over well with the watching religious world. And, it set a trajectory for the table as a meeting place for all those who follow the way of Jesus.
My dining room table was built by a friend. He had made it as a wedding gift for his bride, and the two ended up being my neighbors after their wedding. When they moved out of the country, they gave this treasured piece to me. It is long, holds 10-12 people, and has story built into its imperfections. I love it! This table is the prominent piece in my home. I have a goal of having 500 people at my table annually for well over a decade. 2020 withstanding, I have met that goal.
I like to think my love for the table was formed by Jesus and Nebraska. I spent my early childhood in Nebraska, where family ate together nightly, often extending invitations to neighbors, friends, teachers, and the co-workers of my parents. The table was a place to host, connect, eat, and be with others. Though my family had little financially, our table was extended generously. The table held no romantic notion; it simply was a place of being and inviting others to be with us. I learned the embodiment of the Old Testament understanding of the table simply by practicing hospitality around a table.
I deeply believe the dining room table is a place of invitation to relationship. And, every Thanksgiving, we have the opportunity to accept or extend the invitation to gather with gratitude. The Thanksgiving Table is a table unlike any other; it comes with all kinds of baggage, hopes, mixed company, and is pregnant with opportunity for great tumult or great blessing.
I believe the very first thing we must do when preparing to gather around this particular table is release our expectations for every person who will be present and to openly welcome each person, right where they are, as they are. The second thing is to let guests know your hope or intention for the time, “I’d love for you to join us, my hope is that we will be able to focus on the good of this last year together. Would you come prepared to share one story of how you experienced good together. It’s been a bit of a wild year, and I want to celebrate and be grateful for the good together,”might be a good way to extend an invitation and set expectations.
Thankfulness is not limited to a table or a particular date, rather it is a posture that is nurtured over time, in the context of relationship. Consider taking some time before Thanksgiving arrives to write a thank you note to each person invited to share this meal together. What are you truly thankful for about them? Inviting guests to a home where they know they are welcomed, as they are, and you are grateful for them, sets the table before any person’s arrival.
And, one truth I’ve learned from both Jesus and Nebraska, is that the table is simply an ordinary piece of furniture made extraordinary by the intention and love with which it’s set, in every host and guest’s heart. The dining room table is a sacred place.
Cari Jenkins is on the teaching team at Platt Park Church, designs immersive formation experiences through Tov Consulting Group and hosts guests at her table as a rule of life.
She is the founder of The Host and The Guest bringing products for a Hospitable life. Through workshops, consulting, table scape building, and products for connection, The Host and The Guest is where hospitality grows.
