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The Welcome Table
by
Major Brendan
Nottle
Bono, the
lead singer of U2, tells this story, "Before I had kids, I
visited an Ethiopian camp/feeding station. A man came up to me
with his little boy, a beautiful boy, and proud of his son,
the man begged me to take his son home and through the
translator he just repeated over and over, 'You take him with
you. If he stays here, he will surely die'. The rules of the
camp are that you can't take children home with you, you can't
adopt them. But in some strange way that day, I did take that
little boy home with me. That interface with extreme poverty
that day has driven me to call people of influence, power and
wealth to account for what they are doing, or not doing for
their poor brothers and sisters around the world".
Here is a parable of the Kingdom of God:
"One time when Jesus went for a Sabbath meal with one of the
top leaders of the Pharisees (Religious Leaders), all the
guests had their eyes on him, watching his every move. Then
Jesus turned to the host. "The next time you put on a dinner,
don't just invite your friends and family and rich neighbours,
the kind of people who will return the favour. Invite some
people who never get invited out, the misfits from the wrong
side of the tracks. You'll be – and experience – a blessing.
They won't be able to return the favour, but the favour will
be returned – Oh, how it will be returned! – at the
resurrection of God's people."
(Luke 14:1, 12-14 The Message)
The issues of poverty and marginalisation are often debated in
terms of what are the causes, are the poor themselves to blame
for their condition, or can we do something to or for them to
help improve their plight? God's response to the poor and
marginalised is to bring them in. God wants us to bring them
to the table, to invite them into relationship, to get to know
who they are and what's going on in their lives (that's what
happens when you have people around for a meal). This actually
helps lay the foundations for developing a healthy community
where everyone gets changed.
A famous African American Spiritual entitled "The Welcome
Table", says this:
"We're gonna sit at the welcome table,
We're gonna sit at the welcome table one of these days,
Hallelujah!…
All God's children around that table…
No more fightin' or grabbin' at the table…
I'm gonna walk the streets of glory…
I'm gonna get my civil rights…
We're gonna sit at the welcome table on these days."
The welcome table metaphor, when actually lived out, changes
us and our approach to the poor. It helps us understand who
the poor really are, what they need, and how the rest of us
(and our values, our programs, our bureaucracy and our
systems) need to change. The poor no longer remain at arms
length, living in isolation, when we join together at the
welcome table, when they are truly invited to join us in our
families and communities, together we find solutions to our
problems.
When we join together at the welcome table, when we listen to
understand and speak to be understood, a deep sense of
compassion will be stirred within us, but compassion is only
the doorway to change. Feeling and seeing what life is truly
like for others is the beginning of change.
Some will cry out, in the words of the Beatles, "Love is all
you need… love is the answer." The love of God is meant to be
taken to the streets and tested on the streets. In so doing,
we will soon realize that compassion is nice, but it isn't
enough! We then need to heed the call for social justice. In
the words of Jim Wallis, in his new book, "Seven ways to
change the world", "Feeding hungry people is helpful, but it
isn't enough. Asking why so many people are hungry is the
justice question. Working in a homeless shelter or helping
find someone accommodation is inspiring at times, but it isn't
enough. Asking why there isn't more affordable housing
available, or why home ownership is only the domain of the
middle class is the justice question."
But even in calling for social justice, there is still the
possibility of keeping a safe distance from the poor
themselves, still the temptation to see problems to be fixed
as concerning "them" and not "us". The third step is into
solidarity or community or interdependence with the poor. It
is at this point that we come to believe that we need one
another, no matter what our background, and that everybody has
things to give and to receive.
When we all gather at the welcome table, no matter what our
background, we become filled with compassion, motivated to do
justice, willing to live and work in healthy community. It is
then that the image portrayed in U2's song, "Crumbs from your
table", will hopefully become a fading reality, "…Where you
live should not decide whether you live or die, Three to a bed
– Sister Ann, she says, 'Dignity passes by'. And you speak of
signs and wonders, Well I need something other, I would
believe if I was able, But I'm waiting on the crumbs from your
table".
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