It is a fact that table fellowship was very important in the life and ministry of Jesus. Jesus dined out a lot. He was once described as a glutton and a drunkard. And when he spoke about the Kingdom of God he often described it in terms of a banquet or a wedding feast.
Jesus obviously enjoyed good food and a glass of wine. But for Jesus, the quality of the relationships between the people who sat at his table was more important than the quality of food and wine placed on his table. Jesus’ dinner guests were a collection of all sorts of people: tax collectors, prostitutes, Pharisees, the poor, the wealthy, the sick and the sad. At Jesus’ table these very diverse groups of people had to accept one another and be genuinely interested in each other’s lives.
In Jesus’ dining room there are only round tables. Why? There is no top or bottom at a round table; there are no seats of honour. You can sit anywhere at a round table and not feel out of place. Round tables are inclusive. At a round table you can see everyone and engage with everyone. Round tables are more conducive to communication and to the experience of companionship.
So what does Jesus want us to bring to his round tables? Humility. Humility comes from the word humus which means ‘of the earth.’ We are all of the earth. We are all creatures. No one of us is more important than anyone else. We are all totally dependent on God.
In the northwest of Ireland there is a well-known centre of pilgrimage, prayer and penance called Lough Derg. It is a challenging place. The first thing you do when you get to the island for the three day retreat is take off your shoes and socks. You spend all your time there with nothing on your feet. There is something powerful and significant in the fact that everyone is walking around in their bare feet. Everyone is connected directly to the earth; everyone is on the same level. The truth is we all share a common humanity and a common need. We are all equal. What’s more, we are all vulnerable.
Those who gather around Jesus’ dining table must first take off their shoes. The community Jesus wishes to create in the world is a community of equals. It is a community founded on our common humanity and built by our compassion. It is a community that gives concrete expression to what it means to belong to the Kingdom of God.