On the Power of a Table: Tables As Invitations to Relationship

What if all that we're learning about tables doesn't just apply to our physical dining room tables, but rather, what if it applies to all of our virtual tables (i.e., social media platforms)? 

Who are you inviting to your table? Who are you excluding from your table? What does God have to say about our invites? Let's get into it.

Pull up a chair 🪑  Comment below to join the conversation!

SHOW NOTES

Sitting At the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishness of Jesus Can Transform Your Faith

"The inclusion of sinners in the community of salvation, achieved in table-fellowship, is the most meaningful expression of the message of the redeeming love of God." Joachim Jeremias (pg. 149)

"By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35 ESV

Episode on As We Grow where I began this conversation about unity over division: "BONUS EPISODE: Division in the Church"

Transcript

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Who's ready to hear me get spicy? I have a message burning on my heart that I have started to share in my other podcasts as we grow, and we get into it a lot deeper here in on the mentors table. And I feel like this is probably just the beginning. We're going to be talking about this for a while now because I think it is such a crucial time for us as the body of Christ to wake up and make sure that we are taking responsibility for every word and every action. Pull up a chair. This is going to be a good one. Welcome back to the mentor's table. You know, when I started this podcast, I envisioned the table like a big conference room table or a really large like farmhouse dining room table. The idea is that there's one table and many chairs around it, and everybody is contributing to the conversation at the table. And that's my vision for the mentors table that while this is a virtual table, this is a single round table where everybody's voice matters. The table is the great equalizer. We all have to eat, right? And so, regardless of social status, regardless of uh money or intelligence level or gender or belief system, we all can gather at the same table and partake together. And I think that's what's so beautiful and powerful about it. Today we're gonna talk about who we are inviting to the table and what those invitations mean. But before we get started, as always, I like to take a minute to really center ourselves and become present in this moment so we can hear clearly how God or what God is speaking to us. So if you guys could take a deep breath in, release it slowly, make sure your feet are flat on the floor, your palms are open in a posture of surrender. And just take a moment to get into your body, get into your mind, and be with us here right now. Open the eyes of our understanding, open our ears, open our hearts, open our eyes so that we can see and know what you have for us today. You are welcome here. Take one more breath in and release it slowly. Okay, now that we are present and in this moment, we're gonna conclude our conversation about tables by talking about the depth of meaning that an invitation to a table holds. You know, in the ancient East, when we're talking about like biblical times as well as in present times now in the East, uh an invitation to a table is seen as a an invitation that marks that the invitee is honored, as we've talked about in previous episodes. It is a peace offering. It's a place where we are saying, Come to our table because we trust you. And as we talked about last week, it's a place of forgiveness, it's a place of reconciliation. It's saying, Hey, if you will come and break bread with me, then I will lay down all of our differences and we will go forward as sisters, we will go forward as brothers, we will go forward as family members in the family of God. You know, it I've sprinkled it throughout the last few episodes, but Psalm 23 just really becomes so much more meaningful when we begin to understand what a table represents. We've talked about how God preparing a table for us in the presence of our enemies means that He is duty bound to protect us. That is what an invitation to a table includes. Is that inherent protection that the inviter assumes when they bring you to their table? It's also a reminder that he's the provider. We come to the table for nourishment, we come for life, it sustains our life by gathering around, breaking bread, and eating together. And so when God says in Psalm 23 that he prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies, he's not just preparing a place to keep you safe, but he is giving nourishment for your life. He's also showing you honor by saying, I want you at my table. He's showing that he trusts you, he's showing forgiveness. You know, I've had a particularly rough week in my mind. That I that sounded a little weird the way I phrased it, but you know, like there circumstantially, if you look at my life, a lot of things are going really well, and I have so much to be thankful for. But there has just been a lot of mental noise in my mind, whether it's thoughts of shame or guilt or sadness or hurt or bitterness, all of these things have been consistently swirling, thoughts of fear as well. And I can take those thoughts and I can, and I say I, but really my inner critic, can just masterfully consolidate all of those thoughts into a concentrated statement of how much of a failure I am, or how unworthy I am, or the fact that because of all these things happening, or the way that people are perceiving what's happening based on what I did, that that somehow makes me bad. But when God invites us to his table in Psalm 23, in the presence of our enemies, he is saying, You are worthy. It's not because of your works, it's not because of your merit or your knowledge or your financial status that you are invited. You're invited because of God's worth, seeing you as worthy. That's the beauty of Psalm 23 and the power and the significance of David saying he prepares a table for us in the midst of our enemy, regardless of if we feel like we deserve it. God says, All of you. The Bible is written to all of us. We are all sons and daughters of God. All of you have an invitation, all of you are worthy. He started out in a pretty um tangible way with Jesus' example here on earth. And the Bible records that Jesus sat down at the table with um tax collectors and sinners, which was kind of like the ultimate bad guys at the time. You know, it didn't mention, you know, that he was sitting down with the Pharisees or the Sadducees or the spiritual leaders of his time, and people were starting to question his judgment. It was the tax collectors and the sinners. And Jesus gave for us a physical representation and reminder that said, Hey, you are worthy. This invitation isn't just for the people that are studying the Torah on a regular basis, the people that have financial wealth and can fund my ministry. This invitation is for all of you. I love that the table is a representation of that because it involves something physical, which means we have to get our physical bodies involved. We've talked about this a lot, but we are spirit, soul, and body. Our bodies matter to God. And so, with the invitation of sitting at God's table, it's not just something that we do in our minds. It's not just something that we do in our hearts or in our spirits. Instead, it is something that we do with our physical bodies. The Lord's Supper was a time for their physical bodies to gather around the table and break bread together when we do communion, communion, one of the sacraments in our church together as a body. Our physical bodies are getting involved, which means that it's not just your heart that is invited to the table, it's not just your soul that's invited to the table, it's you, all of you, your physical body as well. God calls all of you worthy. I love the promise in Revelation 320. The Bible says, Behold I being Jesus, stand at the door and knock. If anyone opens the door, I will come in and eat with him. He'll sit down at the table with us because he counts you as worthy. From the book that we've been getting a lot of this information from called Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus, there's a quote from a man whose name is Joachim Jeremiah, and he points out that Jesus' example of inviting sinners and tax collectors to the table is not just a it's not, he doesn't say this, I'm adding my own words here. It's not like a guilt trip for us, like if you don't do this, then you're not doing it right. Instead, he's saying, here is a physical picture of my mission, of why I am here, and of the redeeming love of God that I am offering to you. The quote from the book from Jeremiah says, The inclusion of sinners in the community of salvation achieved in table fellowship, that's how they're included, is the most meaningful expression of the message of the redeeming love of God. Now that's where Jeremiah's quote ends, but the book picks up and says, Each time Jesus ate with sinners, he was revealing the kingdom of God. I think it's important that we pause here and take some time to reflect on who we are inviting to the table. You know, Jesus made it very clear that the invitation was to everyone. The invitation was to all of us. And the same goes for us as representatives of God. We talked about how the table represents an altar. And if the table represents an altar, then we as the hosts of the table are representatives of priests. We are here to bear, well, we're all image bearers of God, but we're here to represent God's presence at the table. And so our invitations to our tables matter. And we have somehow, and when I say we, I'm talking to other Christians right now. I'm talking to people who are in the Big C church, meaning believers around the world who have submitted their lives to the Lordship and the leadership of Jesus, people who have chosen to follow after God's word and accept that as the ultimate truth. For some reason, we can read our Bibles in our quiet times or at our church services and see Jesus' example of who he invites to the table. And yet we somehow have come out with this idea that our invitations need to be more limited. Our invitations need to have more discernment, is one of the Christian's ways that we have justified this. Our invitations need to somehow show us or show others that we are being wise when we invite people to our table. But if I am being just completely black and white with you, that is not the example that Jesus gave. We are adding our own interpretation, our own layers, and honestly, our own levels of comfortability onto our invitations. And we are justifying it in the name of Christ and using great words like discernment and wisdom to believe that when we only invite people that we deem as worthy or safe or comfortable, that we're somehow imitating the image of God. And God is saying, Nope, that's not the example that my son gave you. Now I want to extend this idea a little bit farther because this has really been burning on my heart. I alluded to it a little bit before, and I'm pretty sure we're gonna come back to this pretty often in 2026. But what if we considered, just like the mentors table is a virtual table, what if we considered that our social media platforms are a virtual table of sorts? Then the things that we post now become invitations to our table. Or the opposite, they become exclusions to our table. We have somehow gotten this idea that it's okay to make very clear who is and who is not invited to our table, or put another way, who is right and therefore worthy of being at our table, and who is wrong and needs to be told that they are wrong, needs to be canceled, needs to be judged, needs to be ostracized, needs to be punished. If we consider the things that we are putting out into the virtual world as invitations to our table, what are our posts saying about who is welcome at our table? People who are followers of Jesus will stand out because of their love for one another. Now, I am not saying that we need to make posts that um make us virtual doormats where we just roll over and let all the punches come because everybody is included at our table. That's not what I'm saying. Don't don't hear what I'm not saying. I'm saying that before we put any words out, which would be the equivalent of an invitation, that we consider carefully what those words are doing. Are we putting out words that while they may be truth are also clothed in judgment, are also clothed in some sort of self-righteousness. These words are true, and if you don't believe them, then fill in the blank. You are an idiot. You don't deserve X, Y, and Z. You are a bad person. There is a way for us to share invitations to our table that are true and are clothed in love. Invitations that while speaking the truth are not speaking judgment and cancellation and prejudice and hatred toward another. I follow a person on Instagram who used to be a witch and has come to a saving faith in Jesus. She was very involved in the occult and new age movement and performed spells and the whole mamba jamba. She has come to faith in Jesus and she has a burden on her heart to expose the works of darkness, to show, kind of to pull the curtain back and show what's really going on because she was experiencing and living it. As she has boldly gone forth to expose darkness. Do you know who her biggest opponents are? It's Christians. It's Christians coming in and judging her. It's people who claim to follow Christ and telling her that she's not dressing the right way, she's not speaking the right way, she's not using scripture the right way, she is not telling the truth at all. That is an invitation to your table or an anti-invitation to your table. Why is it that the people who all claim to be following Jesus are the ones that are actually trying to cut people off from their seat at the table? It feels like on social media we are throwing elbows, we're pulling chairs out from under people, we're labeling people before they even get to the table. We are generalizing and stereotyping people because if you side with this influencer or you listen to or share a quote from this political leader, the list goes on and on of things that are quote unquote wrong, then you do not belong at this table. And that is not the message of Christ. Jesus exemplified for us that an invitation to the table is open to all because that's how God's redeeming love works. He doesn't sort us out ahead of time and decide who's worthy and who's not. He died for all. The Bible says that Christ died for all of our sins. He wasn't up there choosing who was worthy and who was not. He wasn't following or creating some sort of list, like, well, as long as you meet this list of standards, then I'm dying for you. None of that. None of that was there. And it's so important for us as Christians to remember that our words are powerful. Our words are essentially invitations or rejections to our table. And the Bible makes it very clear that the kingdom of God is available to all. And so our lives as images of God, as representatives of God, are to convey in our words and in our actions an invitation that is in line with God's redeeming love. And that means that when you get all worked up and decide to share the truth, if you're not sharing the Emerald saying quotes, quote unquote truth, but I mean, like sometimes people will use big T truth, the Bible, and share the truth, but the heart behind it is not love. It is not an invitation to reflect God's presence or his character, it is a means of division. Division is not a fruit of the spirit. I don't care how quote unquote right you are. That is not an excuse or a justification for dividing. The Bible has called us to be set apart by showing our love, by choosing unity. We all have a responsibility to check with God before our words come out of our mouth. Are we unified with God's Spirit when we say this? Or are we in some way on our high horse and we've decided that we need the people who are wrong to know that they're wrong? And so we're gonna post X, Y, and Z. As you can tell, I feel this really strongly in my heart. And I'm gonna continue to share this message because I want to see the kingdom of God, the body of Christ grow, become more unified. Our mission becomes stronger and more effective when we walk in unity, not division. If we are causing division, we're not playing for God's side, guys. Let's be really black and white here. We're choosing to make a play that helps divide the kingdom, divide the church, and that is what Satan wants. That is not what God wants. I think it's important that we end our time with a prayer of confession and a reminder that if the goal is love, if the goal is unity, this is not meant to condemn and judge or cancel any of you. This is meant to light a fire inside of you, to consider more carefully the power of your words and your actions and encourage you, guys. This is so important. This is more important than being quote unquote right. This is more important than somehow proving to man that you are worthy. This is God's heart, his message. The reason that Jesus came was the to extend an invitation to his redeeming love that is available to all. So, Lord, we just close our eyes right now and we open our hands and we say, Please forgive us. We have carelessly allowed words and actions to convey to others that they are not worthy, that they are not quote unquote right, that they are somehow lesser, and they are not invited to your table. And we confess that is wrong. We apologize, we put that behind us, and we come to your table that you have so graciously invited us to, and we say, We're we're laying this down right now here at the table, and we're not picking it back up. But from now on, our words, our actions will be invitations to others of the redeeming love of God, just like Jesus showed us how to do when he was here on earth. We love you, God, and we thank you for your forgiveness, for your mercy, for your discernment to help us choose our words wisely. Thank you, Jesus. Amen. It's update time, so we had some people who came, some friends who came to visit a couple of weeks ago, and then we just said goodbye to some family. My husband's nephew and his girlfriend came to visit, and I just really enjoyed hosting them and being able to share love. It's hard to be long distance from family because the natural just time that you spend together that helps develop a relationship just isn't there. It requires intentionality and it requires intentionality from both sides. And I am just so thankful for Isaac's nephew's intentionality to come out and spend time here with us. It just means the world to us, and we really, really enjoyed that part of it. Um, and as an update, last week I put out a request for ideas for how to, in a meaningful way, start to log all these people who are coming. And I got a really great idea from Gretchen who co-hosts As We Grow my other podcast. And um, and I totally spaced and didn't do it with our nephew, but um, I'm hoping to do it from now on. But I still would love to hear any other suggestions you have. There's a little bit, it's not a steep on ramp because I already have components of it, but there is parts that I need to continue to finish ups to make this possible and happen. But uh Gretchen suggested getting one of those corkboard maps um that you like, you know, put your little push pin in that has uh or where your city is just as a way to mark where you came from. But because I wanted to have some more information like names and ages and you know, faces, things like that, she suggested getting one of those mini Polaroid cameras, which I actually already have one of these. So a mini Polaroid camera, take a picture of the group, and then on the back we can write all the information that I wanted to write. So, for example, like um what city they were living in when they came to visit us and the names and the ages of the kids, and maybe even like a highlight of what we did together. But then we can take it and we can pin it to their city area um on our cork board, and then we have that uh visible reminder with a picture of them at the time, and then when they come back, we can see how they've grown and see how little they were when they first came, you know, things like that. So I am excited about that. I like I said, I do have that Polaroid camera. I just now need to get the map. I'm assuming a map printed on cork is gonna be the easiest option, but that requires a little bit of gathering of supplies. But again, if you have another idea, um, and maybe it is more of like a take those Polaroid pictures and put them in a book uh options. Oh, I'm willing to hear it. I would love to hear it and love to get some ideas, maybe tweak this idea just a little bit and get to a point where we can have a meaningful way to look back over the years of who have um come and visited us. And if you're listening to this and you know me, um, the invitation is open to you too. I would love to host. I would love to have you and your family come and visit. And I'm gonna try and get you to fall in love with the mountains just as much as I do. That's it for this week. Thank you so much for joining me around the table. Remember, if we are gathering around a table, it requires participation on both ends, not just hearing my voice. That's really more of like a teacher-student setting where I'm standing at the front and everybody is just at their individual desk. But we are at a table where all the voices are welcome and equal, and I want to hear from you. So jump in. You can text the show with the link in the show notes, you can get on Instagram, or you can get on my website, joybod.com, and leave a comment. Joyabod.com is probably the best way for you to add your voice to the table. I'd love for all of you to be to meet us there, to read the comments of others. And if you haven't already, sign up for my newsletter. It only comes out once a month. It's got really important updates on what we have released for that month, and it's a great way for me to stay in contact with you, especially if your algorithm does not naturally pull me to the top of your scrolling. So love you guys. See you next week. Nerd alert, nerd alert. Guys, I am such a nerd. I geek out on show notes. So if you ever want to know how to contact the show directly, how to find us on socials, links to books or anything that we mention on the show, go to the show notes. And at the very bottom, there's always a link that says support the show. It doesn't matter how little or big or how often you want to give, it's super easy to do. And I like to consider it a way for you to take me out for coffee and say, hey, thanks. And you know what I say? Thank you. You guys are the best.