Every year the new Methodist Church President and Vice-President select a theme for their year. This year it is “God’s Table – An Invitation for All”.
I remember in 2000 Rev Inderjit Bhogal was President and he had a similar theme of God’s Table.
One of the things about Methodism is the way we always seem to end up with a meal, or cream tea, or tea and cake. We are a very hospitable people. One of our fundraising ideas is often to invite people to a meal in our homes and ask for a donation either to the church or to a specific charity. This is a wonderful way to be fed and get to know new people.
There are many instances in the Bible of meals. Some that come to mind are in the Old Testament, the woman who baked for Elijah when he was fleeing for his life; in the New Testament, the loaves and fishes which fed 5,000 people as they were listening to Jesus; and, of course, the Last Supper Jesus had with his disciples before his crucifixion.
At the Last Supper Jesus told us to share bread and wine in remembrance of Him. This sharing is what our President and Vice-President mean when they say that their theme is: God’s Table – An Invitation to ALL.
Let us thank God for the invitation and ask Him to help us spread the good news of Jesus through our ways and our hospitality.