çay ve kahve
In contemplating my hopes for the Outreach Prayer for WestAsia over this year, I’ve been thinking about what image I might hold when we meet. We have many images from tradition, scripture, and the church to hold in our praying hearts. We can probably agree on the most prevalent ones: a cross, a last supper, a sun, still waters, a nature scene, an empty tomb. Some images are parables: a prodigal son, a buried treasure, a vineyard. At Restoration, we are often reminded of the image that God invites us to a table of abundance. Each Sunday, we return to the image of God’s eternal table and celebrate His feast.
In community together, often we gather again in our homes for a shared meal, a potluck, and that meal differs from the Eucharist. Instead of one playing host and providing the food, we each bring something to the table to feed the group. It’s an easy way to have a feast without the burden to host falling on one party. Still, the imagery is precious: just as the Body is made by various parts, here, each brings different food for the group. Moreover, by each individual bringing a portion to the table, we find ourselves fed.
When we gather as Christians, we often engage in some sort of potluck. We don’t always bring food, but we always bring something. In each interaction, worship service, or small group, we bring our own images in our praying hearts, hopes and sorrows, faiths and doubts, and our own healing and brokenness. We bring our perfectly created uniqueness and, at the same time, our similarity in each bearing the image of God.
This Monday, 10/5 at 7.30pm, we’ll be gathering at the church to pray for Asia. It will be like this image of a potluck. We’ll each bring something different, just as we will each be different. The important thing is that we bring our offerings to God and share in His community, each bearing our portion. In doing so, I have no doubt that we will find ourselves again, at a table of abundance, albeit a spiritual one, and find ourselves leaving fed. We’d love to have you with us!
